Chasing That Horizon!

The Voyages and Journeys of Keith and D'Anne as they traverse the highways and waterways of America, the Pacific and Atlantic Coasts, the deserts, mountains, and the heartland, via boat, RV, plane, train, or cycle.

Vessel Name: Horizon
Vessel Make/Model: Itasca Horizon 36LD
Hailing Port: Chesapeake Bay
Crew: Keith and D'Anne Weitzman
About:
We have been boating for a little over 40 years. Our boats progressed from a 10 ft sailing dinghy to a Venture 17, American 25, Newport 30 MKIII, to a CT-41 Ketch - all sailboats. Searching for a little more speed and adrenaline,, we bought our first power boat, a 17ft runabout. [...]
Extra:
Our Backyard, a Carver 3607 trawler in Virginia, has been sold to a new adventurer. Dragon's Breath, our CHB-41 in Northern California, has also been sold to someone with wonderful dreams. Our Backyard carried us down the eastern rivers of America, on a voyage of incredible discovery. Alas, she [...]
17 February 2023 | Robert F Henry Lock and Dam
06 January 2023 | Jones Lake State Park
05 January 2023 | Kerr Lake
02 January 2023 | Satterwhite Point, Kerr Lake, Henderson, NC
23 January 2020 | Cumberland Island National Seashore
15 December 2019 | Chesapeake Boat Works, Deltaville, VA
06 December 2019 | Deltaville, VA
01 December 2019 | Deltaville, VA
01 December 2019
11 May 2019 | California
07 February 2019 | Menifee, CA
20 December 2018 | Hartfield, Virginia
14 October 2018 | St. Michaels, MD
24 August 2018 | Wilton Creek
03 March 2018 | Tucson, AZ
06 February 2018 | Lake Perris, CA
04 October 2017 | Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, CA
01 September 2017 | Sierra Nevada
27 August 2017 | Sugar Pine Point, Tahoma, CA Lake Tahoe
03 August 2017 | Bear Valley Campground, Sierraville, CA
Recent Blog Posts
17 February 2023 | Robert F Henry Lock and Dam

Technology

Technology. It is the Force by which we base our lives. Our clocks are set by a radio signal coming from a master clock somewhere in Colorado, as it measures the half-life degradation of a tiny speck of uranium. Our cell phones receive a time signal from the internet, as well as the current and predicted [...]

06 January 2023 | Jones Lake State Park

Flat Earth

I received an awful lot of flak from fellow RV group members, when I posted a photo of our rig with the rear leveling jacks fully extended, our rear wheels two inches off the ground, as we sought to compensate for a very uneven slope that served as our last parking spot. You see, the parking brakes are [...]

05 January 2023 | Kerr Lake

My Kind of Morning

I barely know the difference between a crow and a chickadee, yet am enthralled by the morning calls of these creatures. It's early, and the sun is just peeking through the trees and fog, about to stake its claim on our little part of the world. After some periods of hard rain yesterday, it looks like [...]

02 January 2023 | Satterwhite Point, Kerr Lake, Henderson, NC

Another Winter's Journey Has Begun

The sweet salty flavor of ranch dip, clinging precariously upon the end of a celery stick reminded one of adolescence. It was a reminder of days gone bye, a staple of parties and get-togethers, the ever-present accompaniment to chips, crackers, cubes of cheese, wine, and the noise of celebration. It [...]

23 January 2020 | Cumberland Island National Seashore

Cumberland Island

Cumberland Island

15 December 2019 | Chesapeake Boat Works, Deltaville, VA

A Break in the Weather

A mighty "Yeowww" followed by a flowing stream of epithets has shaken me out of my dreamy tedium as I am scraping hardened barnacles from the propeller. Looking up, I see my boatyard neighbor walking in circles rubbing his forehead, his dust mask and earmuffs hanging at an odd angle, and his ball cap [...]

A Little Solitude

03 August 2017 | Bear Valley Campground, Sierraville, CA
Beautiful

We are having a fabulous summer at Lake Tahoe. The skies are blue and the temperatures range between 55 and 85. Surrounded by evergreen trees, squirrels, chipmunks, and black bears are our constant companions. We go kayaking, paddle boarding, bicycling, hiking, motorcycling, Jeep trailing, and night sky gazing. Our rent is free and our utilities are free as well.

So, what's the catch? We are living and working in a hotel. Yes, it is a campground, but guests come and go on a daily basis. They check in, get settled, then go out to play in their vacation paradise. They come back in the evening, eat dinner, sit around the campfire, and then go to sleep. The routine repeats itself for two to seven days, and then they are gone, only to be replaced by the next incoming guests. Some stay for only one night. Others stay for two weeks. We have happy campers and we have unhappy campers. We have church groups who have rented out the entire loop with over 600 campers. And we have overnighters who sleep in the beds of their pickup trucks. As hosts, we tour 175 sites, three times per day. Service with a smile and a wave of a hand, we check occupancy, sell firewood, provide information, remind kids to wear helmets, listen to complaints and accolades, issue notices of non-compliance, and take reports of bear sightings. The hours are okay, about six hours per day, three days on, three off. We meet wonderful people from all places. We hear their stories and they hear ours. We have been invited into campsites to share food and camaraderie. Our co-hosts, park aides, and rangers have been very friendly and compatible.

After two months of smoky campfires, screaming children, rumbling exhausts, droning generators, clanging dumpster lids, foreign tongues, church group singing, car alarms, and Lake Tahoe traffic and population, we were ready for a break. We purchased our first RV over three years ago, more out of necessity than desire, as we knew our plans would require such. Having always been tent campers, that was as traumatic as when we switched from a sailboat to a diesel trawler. But we missed tent camping greatly, and after more than three years of stewing about it, we decided that it would be okay to depart from the "mothership" occasionally. So we went out last week and increased the stock value of Coleman by purchasing a new tent, sleeping bags, cooler, and air bed. Packing the Jeep with our new treasures, plus our older Coleman stove, and our Coleman chairs (our Coleman lantern fell from its hanger last week and broke), we set out to find a little solitude.

And find it we did! Less than an hour's drive away, we found Bear Valley Campground, in Tahoe National Forest. With only ten campsites, it has water, toilets, tables, and best of all, it's free! Six miles from the main road, there is no traffic noise. As we arrived on a Sunday, there were only two other camps here, and they were gone before dark. We have the place to ourselves. No internet, cellular, or power. We left the music at home. We have books to read, birds to listen to, and colored pencils and paper. No smoky fires, no voices, no traffic. It was almost difficult the first night, but I believe we are unwinding now. Guiness is pleased with her 80ft run line, which allows her to chase squirrels over a greater area.

Today, we drove the OHV Loop, which we thought would be only 7 miles, but after 6 hours of rocky trails and steep hill climbs and descents, we had covered 12 1/2 miles, and were pretty tired, so we took an exit spur. Unlike the endless switchbacks that had led us up the mountain, it was more like an escape chute, as it took us almost straight downhill, through narrow, rutted gullies. The Jeep took it well, with a few minor scratches and plenty of mud, though one tire now has a nick in the sidewall.

Back in our camp recuperating from the jostling and bouncing, we are watching the sun, glass of wine in hand, as it gently sets into the western ridge line. There is still no one else in the campground, which seems odd for the last day of July. But that is fine with us. We have not seen another vehicle since just before dawn. I guess that is solitude.

It is our second morning. Coffee is made, followed by cereal and milk. Guiness is chasing a rubber ball around as the birds watch and sing their praises of the new day. Standing in a far corner of our site dedicated to teeth brushing, one cannot help but marvel at the vista laid out before us. Stands of new growth from a 1994 fire cover the valley, as it curves up gently in the distance to meet the rugged mountain ridge. The azure sky is punctuated by small cloud formations. A lone bicyclist has stopped in our campground for a short respite. I suppose we'll allow him to stay awhile. After all, this is OUR campground.

Another Jeep trail took us to the North shore of Stampede Lake. There, we had another great picnic lunch, as we sat by the water's edge, listening to the distant ski boats as they towed their wakeboarders around on the calm surface. Guiness had free reign, chasing bugs and butterflies about, and cooling off by lying in the moist soil. How is that we lived in Northern California for twenty years, traveled to Lake Tahoe to ski, drove back and forth to Reno so many times, and yet we did not know about this place? Our theory has been that the universe works on an on-demand policy. The places we've been to in our travels don't exist in real time. Rather, they appear when we arrive. They are ours for the time, but when we go, they go. Books, pictures, movies are but images of places and things that exist only for the moment. It's kind of like the Holodeck on the Starship Enterprise.

Back at our camp, it is now night. The glow on the horizon is rapidly diminishing, and the first star has appeared. The half-moon is bright, causing shadows to be cast On the ground. Candles on the table, the bear box, and the fireplace punctuate the darkness. It is extremely quiet. No camping neighbors for a third night. No voices. No music. No cars. No children. That's solitude...




Comments
Horizon 's Photos - Main
RV winter escape
22 Photos
Created 5 January 2023
Our new Freedom Sloop
3 Photos
Created 6 December 2019
10 Photos
Created 15 October 2018
Our new home in Virginia, as well as some of our travel destinations.
18 Photos
Created 24 August 2018
Our travels across the Southern USA as we make our way to Virginia to continue our Great Loop Voyage. 33 days of driving, touring, and camping in deserts, towns, and beaches.
9 Photos
Created 3 March 2018
Alabama Hills. Hundreds of movie and tv westerns were filmed here
7 Photos
Created 22 January 2018
13 Photos
Created 3 August 2017
Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California
8 Photos
Created 8 March 2017
9 Photos
Created 17 January 2017
11 Photos
Created 17 January 2017
RV travels from Alabama to Virginia, and up to Maine
21 Photos
Created 9 October 2016
12 Photos
Created 8 July 2016
Crossing Florida on the Caloosahatchee River
6 Photos
Created 29 May 2016
Our northbound voyage as we follow the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW)
10 Photos
Created 29 May 2016
Our travels through Florida, from west to east.
16 Photos
Created 7 March 2016
2 Photos
Created 7 March 2016
28 Photos
Created 10 December 2015
Our newly purchased 1982 Carver 3607 Motoryacht.
11 Photos
Created 25 November 2015
12 Photos
Created 8 November 2015
Traveling South through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi
8 Photos
Created 10 October 2015
5 Photos
Created 5 September 2015
Various travels and points of call around San Francisco Bay and the California Delta
11 Photos
Created 16 August 2015
Goings on around SF Bay
9 Photos
Created 1 May 2015
10 Photos
Created 3 February 2015
2 Photos
Created 28 January 2015
11 Photos
Created 28 January 2015
The southbound leg of our land trip to Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, and finally California
8 Photos
Created 20 October 2014
18 Photos
Created 4 September 2014
Photos from our land-based Pacific Northwest Journey
33 Photos
Created 4 August 2014
17 Photos
Created 2 July 2014
Pics taken from various days
14 Photos
Created 28 April 2014
11 Photos
Created 4 January 2014
5 Photos
Created 26 December 2013
9 Photos
Created 11 November 2013
8 Photos
Created 5 November 2013
New installations and experiments
16 Photos
Created 3 November 2013
9 Photos
Created 31 October 2013
Sacramento River Cruise July 2013
12 Photos
Created 25 October 2013