Solvang

Solvang

A Charming Slice of Denmark Nestled

In California’s Santa Ynez Valley

 

On a recent trip to the sprawl of the Los Angeles area I had the pleasure of once again visiting this Danish themed community. Located some 125 miles north of Los Angeles, Solvang offers up a great view of what a small Danish Village would look and feel like.

 

Founded by earlier Danish-American settlers who had a vision to find a place in California where land was fertile and available so that their Danish way of life would continue to prosper. This vision became a reality in 1911 when they purchased just over 9,000 acres for $75,000 and named it Solvang which means sunny field in Danish. Solvang has since grown to over 5,000 residents and thrives in carrying on their Danish heritage.

 

 

Solvang offers the visitor a chance to see what a real Danish Village would look and feel like. The architecture is designed to maintain the same feeling that you would expect to see if you were traveling to Denmark. Wind Mills on a number of streets, cross beamed timbers framing either stucco or brick walls and because the Danish feel it brings good luck Stork nests on a number of roofs complete with a model Stork.

 

 One of the many things that I enjoyed about Solvang was that many of its features are easily visited on a self guided walking tour of downtown. This will give you access to a number of businesses that you will find hard to pass by like Danish Chocolate Shops, Danish Bakery’s serving up some of the best Danish pastries you could ever imagine. And by all means do not pass up trying a serving of Aebleskiver. It is pronounced aye-bell-ski-ver and is a light and airy Danish pancake ball served with a dusting of powdered sugar and raspberry jam. Absolutely Great!  

 

 

There are many other attractions you will want to visit and are all within a very short drive from Solvang’s downtown area. This includes many fine wineries. Solvang also has 13 wine tasting rooms and wine bars in the downtown area. Just a few miles out of town is the 1804 Old Mission Santa Ines. And what would a visit to a Danish Community be without a visit to a museum dedicated to the great Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. It is located on the main street through Solvang above a large book store. Ask any of the locals and they will give you directions.

 

For more information on what to see and do in Solvang contact the Solvang Visitor and conference Bureau. They can be reached at 805-688-0701 or by e-mail linda@solvangcc.org

If you are ever in the area take a couple of days to visit this great community. Believe me, you won’t regret it.  

     

 

 

 

This is a story that I wrote some time ago and stored it in my files of stories to someday be published. My wife and I have just returned from yet another great visit to Lassen Volcanic National Park and the subject of this story. I hope you enjoy it.

 

My Love Affair with a Lake

By George Kelly

  Like most teenagers I was fair game for falling in love, but this is the story of a       love affair with a lake, in Lassen Volcanic National Park, that has lasted for sixty seven years.

  World War II had ended the previous year and with it the need to ration gasoline. Because of this, my parents felt that we could at long last take a vacation that had been put off during the war years. My mother wanted to visit Lassen Volcanic National Park some 145 miles from our farm in the Sacramento Valley town of Williams. She was a teen aged girl, living in Redding, during the time Mt. Lassen was erupting and as the eruptions had ended in 1921 she wanted to see what it now looked like up close.

  We loaded our 1936 Buick with everything needed for the trip and after filling the gas tank, at a staggering 18 cents per gallon, my father, mother, sister and I piled in and off we went. We entered the park at the west entrance and the first thing we saw was Manzanita Lake, a beautiful gem of approximately 80 acres, with Lassen Peak reflected on its clear blue surface. It was a sight I have never forgotten.  It supposedly held many trout and that was what I was here for.      

  Tent camping was available at the lake and there also was a company that offered two different kinds of lodging. One was a housekeeping cabin that consisted of two bedrooms, a bath and a small kitchen. The other was much more rudimentary with just a planked wooden floor and frame over which a tent was tied down. It had a single bed with the necessary bedding. If you stayed in one of these the cost was $2.00 per night but you had to carry in your water, cook over an outside wood fire and use the public restrooms. My parents chose the first one although they thought the cost of $6.00 per night was a little high. 

  After helping my parents get settled in I headed for the lake to see where all these trout were supposed to be. It was approaching dusk as I neared it and to my surprise it looked as though the surface was being pelted by a cloud burst. There were so many fish gorging on an evening hatch of aquatic insects that I could hardly believe what I was seeing. As I stood there, with my mouth open, I could hardly wait for tomorrow so I could start catching these fish. Was I ever in for a      huge disappointment!

  On my way back to our cabin I talked with a Ranger who said that the lake had recently been stocked with 5000 Loch Leven Trout. This was a species that were originally imported from Scotland. I later learned that these are what we now call Brown Trout and are considered the most difficult, of all trout, to catch. I was soon to learn how true this was.   

  My parents had scheduled the first part of each day for all of us to visit the many spectacular sights that Lassen Park has to offer including sparkling clear streams, beautiful blue lakes, brilliantly green meadows, colorful wild flowers, great hiking trails, huge rock slides, the hydrothermal area called Bumpass Hell, stands of old growth timber and areas that were completely flattened during the eruptions. I can say that I truly enjoyed seeing all these sights but my mind was on the fish that I knew I would soon be catching.  

  Up to this point my entire fishing experience had been for catfish, carp and an occasional bass that were found in the irrigation canals near our farm.  My tackle consisted of an old solid steel rod, a $3.00 reel filled with white Dacron line to which I had attached a big hook and a weight large enough to allow me to make a sloppy cast. I also had a can of night crawlers I had dug from my mothers’ garden. These had served me well in the canals near our home so I knew I would soon be laying waste to the trout in the lake.       

  The scene at the lake was the same as the night before with trout rising to the surface everywhere. I knew that a limit, of five trout, would soon be mine. It was almost completely dark when I returned to our cabin completely beaten with not even one fish to show for three hours of the best I could throw at them.  This was the same for each of the five evenings that I fished the lake. On our trip home I told myself that I would return to Manzanita Lake and when I did the results would be different.

  Over the next year I talked with anyone and everyone who would give me any information about fishing for trout in a lake. I stored this information away in preparation for my return to Manzanita Lake. It took a lot of talking but I finally convinced my parents to let me go to the lake by myself. I must have been quite a sight, as I boarded a bus to Redding, with a suitcase for my clothes and two boxes filled with fishing tackle and all the gear necessary to cook my meals over a camp fire. From Redding I caught a bus that the Lodge ran once a day to Manzanita Lake. Of course I stayed in one of the tent cabins as the $2.00 per day was all I could afford along with $1.00 per day rental for one of their very old wooden row boats.

  My fishing tackle consisted of the same old rod, reel and line that I had the year before but this time I had a secret weapon. Of all the advice I had received one item kept coming up as a good way to catch trout in a lake and that was a Ford Fender. This is a big two bladed spinner on a wire with the blades spaced eighteen inches apart. It is called a Ford Fender because the blades looked like the front fenders on an old Model T Ford. To this you attached a leader with a small hook at the end. I was told that to catch trout you attach a big night crawler to the hook and then trolled it some fifty feet behind the boat going just fast enough to turn the big blades over. Did this work? Did it ever! Those trout fought each other to grab those night crawlers. I ate trout every night for three nights and then started my belief in conservation as I released all that I caught after that.

  It was here that an older gentleman introduced me to the pleasure of catching these great fish on a fly rod. To date, my largest was a beauty of just over 23 inches in length. I released it and it is my hope that it still swims free in the lake. The lake has now established as a Catch and Release Program where only artificial lures with a single barbless hook may be used. This should guarantee great fishing for the future.

  Many years have passed since this all happened, but my love affair with Manzanita Lake and Lassen Park has never wavered. In the years that followed, I have introduced my wife, two sons, granddaughter, great grandson, and many couples to all that Lassen Park and Manzanita Lake have to offer. It is a place   they have all fallen in love with.

    There have been some changes since my first visit to Lassen Park. The lodge and the old cabins are no longer there. I miss the cabins and especially those old tent cabins but this, along with the fact that there is no hotel or restaurants located in the park, has tended not to attract the massive amount of visitors that some other parks do. This makes for a more laid back atmosphere that allows you to enjoy nature as nature intended it should be enjoyed. It is an outstanding place to visit.

  When up and running there are 455 campsites located at eight camp grounds throughout the park. Each has a fire ring, table and a bear proof food locker. Potable water and rest rooms are available at each location. RV’s are more than welcome but there are no hookups.  A dump station is available at Manzanita Lake. The biggest campground is also located there. It has a convenience store, shower and laundry facilities, 20 new sleeping cabins, a museum showing the history of the park and the eruptions and Ranger presented programs that all will enjoy. Information or reservations for these camp sites can be obtained at www.recreation.gov 

  I have visited Lassen Park a total of twenty eight times and have never grown tired of all it has to offer. It is my hope that you too will plan on visiting this great park and enjoy its many features. I know you will be very pleased if you do.         

Denver Trip

 

On a recent trip to Denver, Colorado to visit with our Grand-Daughter and Great-Grand Son, my wife and I followed Highway I-80 from Sacramento, California to Cheyenne, Wyoming and from there south on Highway I-25 to Denver. On our journey we stayed at three RV Parks on our way there and the same three on our return trip. Upon arriving in Denver we choose an RV Park just 11 miles from downtown Denver in the town of Golden. While all the stops provided adequate arrangements there are two I would like to mention. The Park in Golden I chose because of the ratings that Good Sam had given it and also because it was near to three of the many attractions that Colorado has to offer and ones that I definitely wanted to see.  DAKOTA RIDGE RV PARK was as near to perfect as any of the hundreds or so RV Parks I have stayed in over all the years I have traveled in an RV. One thing that I never ask for when staying in an RV Park is a free stay. As a Travel Writer I know that they are available but when I write a review, as I am now, I want it to show exactly how I felt about my stay there and not feel my review was bought with a free stay.

 

Good Sam rated DAKOTA RIDGE RV PARK with a 10/10/9.5 rating. It can’t get much better than that. Their rest rooms were as clean as any I have ever encountered in my travels. The pool and Spa were sparkling clean and as with the rest rooms were kept that way on a daily basis. They provide a rec room with very comfortable chairs and a sofa plus a large screen TV. Just off  the rec room is a private area set aside to use while on your computer. They also have an exercise room with enough equipment to get a good workout. Another room contains a pool table with pool cues and balls to use for free. Their check in area has a small number of items for sale you might need plus all the free coffee you care to drink. The general grounds were kept as clean as any I have ever encountered. One thing they do that I haven’t seen too often is that if you bag your trash and leave it near the road at your site they will pick it up for you. Management and their staff go out of their way to see that your stay is everything you could possibly want it to be. On top of all that one thing my wife really appreciated was that besides being spotlessly clean the laundry room had a change machine to give you the correct change you needed to do your laundry.

The following pictures will give you a brief idea of what you can expect when you book a stay at DAKOTA RIDGE RV PARK.  

 

     Part of the friendly staff

 

     The Recreation Room

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sparkling pool with a hot tub where I'm standing

      

     Two views of the tree lined park

 

 You can make reservations by phoning them at 800-398-1625

 

The first attraction that I really wanted to see was the Buffalo Bill Museum and his grave site. This took just a drive of a few miles up Lookout Mountain to reach it. I am a history buff especially when it comes to early western history and who better to represent that than Buffalo Bill Cody. He was a fantastic character who was an Indian Fighter, Scout for the Army, Buffalo Hunter for the railroads and for his time one of the greatest showmen ever. The museum is stacked full of mementos regarding his life. He and his wife are buried together there looking out over the Great Plains to the east and the Rocky Mountains to the west.

 

 

The entrance to the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum

Looking East from Lookout Mountain toward the Great Plains

 

 

The gravesite of Buffalo Bill and his wife Louisa

 

The next attraction was the Manitou Cliff Dwellings which are about an hour’s drive south of Denver on Highway I-25 to Colorado Springs and another five minutes west on Highway 24 to the Dwellings. These are authentic Anasazi cliff dwellings that were built more than 700 years ago. It will amaze you what these people were able to accomplish in building these dwellings with only the most primitive of tools. Bring your camera as you will definitely want a lot of pictures. One thing that I was happy to see is that there are no “DO NOT TOUCH” signs. They want you to go all through these dwellings so that you can totally appreciate what it must have taken in time and labor to complete them. 

 

 

 

 

                      

 Last on my list was the Coors Brewery Tour. Sorry, I didn’t take any pictures but I felt that this brewery that has been in business for over 135 years would well be worth your time in taking the tour and not because the free sample of their produce that you will get when it is over. That is of course if you are at least 21 years of age. They do have other non-alcoholic beverages for those who are too young or those who don’t drink alcoholic beverages. The brewery is located right in Golden and you can ask anyone for directions. For tour information you can reach them at 303-277-BEER.

 

The other RV Park worth your consideration is the HI DESERT RV PARK in Winnemucca, Nevada. This Park as the name states is in the high desert of Nevada so if you expect to see lush green lawns throughout the Park you won’t. Water is at a premium in this country so you won’t see many lawns. But don’t let that discourage you. Good Sam rated this park 9.5/9.5/9.5 and I think that was right on. Everything about this park was kept very clean. The staff was there to see that you have a very enjoyable stay.  You can make reservations by calling 775-623-4513.

 

What impressed me on this trip across Nevada, Utah and Wyoming was that I was crossing some of the very same areas that the first settlers did in their covered wagons. The trip from Sacramento, California to Cheyenne, Wyoming is approximately 1,100 miles. We covered this in three days of easy driving before heading south to Denver. On average, this would have taken at least three and a half to four months for those settlers to cover the same distance in their covered wagons. They must have really wanted to do it to undertake such a journey. My hat goes off to them.      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                     

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Lassen Volcanic National Park

By George Kelly

 

 

 

I first visited Lassen Park, as a teenager, in 1947. Since that first visit I have introduced my wife and many families to all this great Park has to offer.

 

Located 47 miles east of Redding, California Lassen Volcanic National Park gives you a chance to commune with nature in a laid back, unhurried way that many of our larger National Parks, with massive amounts of visitors, cannot equal. There are no hotels or restaurants in the park. When fully up and operating there are 455 campsites located at eight sites throughout the park. All come with a table, fire ring and a bear proof food box. Potable water and restrooms are available at each campground. The largest is Manzanita Lake at the west entrance. It has a convenience store, showers, laundry facility, 20 new sleeping cabins, a museum presenting the history of the park and Ranger programs to enjoy. For information about these features or to make reservations go to www.recreation.gov.

 

The main road traverses the park from the western entrance to the new Visitor’s Center, at the south entrance, for a distance of approximately thirty miles. While traveling this road you will be treated to outstanding vistas of crystal clear streams, sparkling blue lakes, brilliantly green meadows, multi colored wild flowers, stands of old growth timber and areas that were completely flattened during the eruptions that ended in 1921

 

There are over 150 miles of hiking trails running throughout the park. Many of which are accessible from the main road. My wife and I have hiked many of them but there are four I think you should consider. The first is level and only one and a half miles around Manzanita Lake. If you take this one just as the sun is setting the last rays of sun light will be framing the summit of Lassen Peak and beautifully reflecting it on the lake. Trout will be dimpling the surface in their quest for an easy meal of hatching insects while overhead Night Hawks perform a graceful ballet of swoops and dives in search of their share of natures buffet.

 

 

A favorite is the hike to Bumpass Hell. It proves that Lassen Peak is just sleeping and not dead. It is the largest hydrothermal area in the park consisting of live steam vents, boiling mud pots, mud volcanoes, hot springs and boiling pools of water. These are all extremely hot so for your safety stay on the wooden planked walkways. Bumpass Hell is reached by an easy trail of three miles for the round trip. It starts at Emerald Lake on the main road. You will know when you are getting close by the smell of sulphur in the air.

 

 

 

The hike up Cinder Cone will require a short drive out of the park and re-entering at the Butte Lake road. Directions are available at either of the entrance stations. Cinder Cone is a moderate hike of four miles round trip. When reaching its base the hike becomes more strenuous as you start up the trail to the summit. Good hiking boots should be worn as the loose cinders make walking up it like walking in sand. You climb 700 feet from the base to the top and it can be tiring but the views make it worthwhile so just take your time and enjoy them all.

 

 

 

The climb to the summit of Lassen Peak is the most strenuous hike but well worth it for the outstanding views you will experience. The trail starts from the parking lot at the 8500 foot level and rises to the summit at 10457 feet. This is a round trip of 5 miles. Sun glasses, a warm light weight jacket, a good hat and hiking boots should be worn to make this climb. Bring water as there is none available on the trail. This climb does not require any technical abilities but rather that you are in fairly good shape. A word of advice, make this hike near the end of your stay so you will more acclimatized to the altitude.

 

 

 

Lassen Volcanic National Park is a park where families can enjoy nature as nature intended it should be enjoyed.

Lake Amador

Lake Amador

A Fisherman’s Dream

And A Family’s Fun

If you were to ask the average trout fisherman where to go for a chance at catching a really big trout the answer would probably be some lake or stream in the Sierra or Cascade Mountains. Save yourself some long distance driving and head for Lake Amador just a few miles out of Ione, CA. The morning I visited Lake Amador, to get information for this article, I left my home in Galt, CA. and headed east on State Rt. 104. It was very foggy that morning which added to my driving time but I was still at the lake in much less than an hour.

Upon my arrival I met with Laurie Lockhart who not only graciously answered all my questions but gave me a free run of the facilities. She said this would allow me see for myself just all this great destination has to offer. They have 73 RV sites that are full service and over 100 sites for camping. The camp sites have restroom and shower facilities available and a dump station is located on the premises. These camping sites are located near a good size pond, with a water slide, that is filled for swimming during the warmer time of the year. Swimming is also permitted in the main lake but the water is usually colder than the pond’s water.

                                           One of the Lakes many quiet coves

The main area known as the Lodge has tackle, bait, propane, gas, cold beverages and snacks. They also have boats with motors available for either a full or half day rental. There is a café that is open Friday, Saturday and Sundays. They have two full size Pool tables so you can show off your skill with a pool cue. The ladies who work here are a wealth of information on fishing conditions and are more than willing to share this with you. The staff, at Lake Amador, wants your visit to be everything you hoped it would be and go out of their way to see that it is

Check in counter and store

                                           The very helpful Laurie & her daughter Chloe

Lake Amador has its own trout rearing facilities and they plant up to 200,000 pounds of their special Cut-Bow Trout each year. These are a cross between a Rainbow and a Cutthroat Trout. If you like to eat trout, these are some of the best eating you will ever sink a fork into. On top of this, they will give you the fight of your life when you hook one. While I was talking to Laurie she had a number of fishermen come in for their fishing permits and she told each of them that they had better be sure that their rods were secure while fishing because over and above the normal one and two pounders that they had planted that day they had put in ten trout that had a combined weight of just over one hundred and fifty pounds. There was also a photograph on the counter of a trout that had been caught a few days earlier that weighed in excess of sixteen pounds. I have fished in a lot of places including Alaska but have never come close to catching a trout that big.

Good fishing can be had right off this dock

 Besides trout, Lake Amador offers outstanding fishing for Bass, Catfish, Crappie and Bluegill. The lake record for Bass is a brute of just over seventeen pounds and each year Catfish are landed that register high on the double digit mark. A lot of these big fish are caught at night which is fine because the lake is open to fishing 24 hours a day the year around. For whatever reason, they do not sell minnows to use as bait but you can bring your own if that is what you want to use.  If you have youngsters that are showing an interest in learning to fish I highly suggest that you take them to this lake.  They can fish right off of the shore and with a juicy red worm presented about four feet under a bobber, they will find many Bluegills more than ready to grab that worm. These won’t be really big fish but to the novice fisherman this won’t matter and I can almost guarantee that they will be hooked for life. This will really be the case if one of those Cut-Bows decides to chow down on the worm.    

Do you need a boat to successfully fish this lake? A lot of the trout that are caught are taken by those fishing right off the bank. For whatever reason, the trout that they plant spend a lot of time swimming in the top four feet of water within twenty five feet of the shore line. If you have your own boat a launch ramp is available but it certainly isn’t necessary to be successful. With over 13 miles of shore line and 400 acres of lake surface area, and you do bring your own boat or rent one, there are a number of coves, arms and creek inlets to explore and fish quietly. When you do catch fish you want to enjoy for dinner there is a fish cleaning station available which will save you from making a really big mess in your own kitchen. Your significant other should greatly appreciate this. 

The boat launch ramps next to the Lodge

                                      

 There are some restrictions that apply when you visit Lake Amador:

No Water Skiing – No Jet Skis – No Motor Cycles - No Racing around in High Speed Boats. This is a location where you can bring your family and enjoy all of its amenities without finding a rowdy atmosphere. The people who run this concession absolutely go out of their way to make sure that you enjoy your visit and will want to come back again. I recommend that you pay it a visit. For complete information as to costs and any other questions you may have they can be reached at (209) 274-4739.     

Your check in point

Published © 2013 by Georgeonthego.net

Newcastle Produce

Newcastle Produce

  Where Culinary Delights

Are Waiting For You

 Normally I write about travel destinations that you will visit in your RV but if that destination has you traveling east from Sacramento on Highway I-80 then you really owe it to yourself to give this business a try.  

 If you enjoy preparing meals and haven’t discovered Newcastle Produce you are in for a very pleasant surprise. Located just off of Highway I-80 in the small historic town of Newcastle, CA., among some old fruit sheds, it is not the place you would expect to find a thriving gourmet food business. In the years since Jan Thompson first opened Newcastle Produce she has built a large clientele not only from the surrounding area but, with her mail order business, from as far away as the state of Maine.

  Don’t let the name of Newcastle Produce fool you into thinking that all they offer is produce. Yes, they do have a large selection of some of the finest produce to be found anywhere. Jan buys from local farmers so she can offer items that in many cases were picked just yesterday. Jan and her husband Francis also own Twin Brooks Farm where they pick many fruits and vegetables early each morning to be offered for sale that day. This is a freshness that cannot be found in even the best of supermarkets.     

      

  Having been in the gourmet food business for many years before retiring I can say that you would be hard pressed to need some product for that special meal and not be able to find it at Newcastle Produce. In addition to the produce, consider the many fine wines from nearby wineries, BBQ sauces, pasta sauces, marinades, olive oils, flavored oils, numerous mustards, jams of almost every kind, many varieties of cheeses, eggs from free range chickens, pastas, artisan baked breads, herbs, spices, local meats from grass fed animals plus dried fruit and nuts and some of the best custom roasted coffee you would ever want to taste.

  On top of all this, Jan has been able to employ a trained Chef to prepare the many foods that are available to eat in or take out. Chef Chelsea Federwitz was trained and graduated from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Saint Helena. She and her staff prepare an absolutely delightful selection of foods consisting of sandwiches, soups, salads, scones of all descriptions, seafood burritos, fruit turnovers and many, many more items. These are all tastefully displayed in their deli counter to help you with your selection. Chef Chelsea also prepares many items for the buyer to take home for an easily prepared evening meal.

  For those of you wanting to add to your culinary knowledge, Chef Chelsea gives cooking classes that are held in the store after closing hours. These classes cover a wide range of cooking topics designed to be used by cooks seeking to increase their knowledge in the kitchen. Many years ago I attended a cooking school in San Francisco and when I first met Chef Chelsea I questioned how anyone as young as she is could really have that much cooking knowledge. After seeing what she can turn out in a kitchen as small as the one she has to work in I no longer have any doubts about her skills.

  For those of you who would like more information about Newcastle Produce you can access their web page at www.NewcastleProduce.com                   

Here you will find recipes and information about events they will be presenting in the future. Jan also produces a free monthly newsletter you can sign up for on her web page or by writing her at 9230 Cypress St. Newcastle, CA. 95658.and request getting on her mailing list.

  It is my hope that you will take the time to drop by and see just what a great store Jan has. I know that if you do you will not be disappointed that you made the effort.  

George is on the go and will be travelling to many places to write about and share with you.  Visit his web page:   georgeonthego.net

Here is just a start.