Day 29 - Travel Day to Mariposa, CA

Day 29 started out much like any other travel day.  
There are always things to put away and areas to tidy up.  

However, Hex and Sandy were experiencing starting problems – so the great team of “Caravan-ers” – Bobby, Spence and Jim got him up and running in no time!

Then it was OUR turn!  One of our bedroom slides decided to pick its own stopping point on the way in.  However, it wasn’t “in” quite enough!  Once again, Caravan-ers to the rescue!  Brian, Spence, Joe and Ted helped Wayde find the problem.  At one point, Joe tried to increase my age by several years when he came inside the coach to help – but I didn’t hear him!  Did anyone hear the blood-curdling scream?  With their help the slide came in and we were on our way!

We traveled with Brian & Marilyn today and she contributed several of the photos you see!  Our first stop was at the Don Pedro Reservoir, which was created by the Don Pedro Dam in 1971 to provide irrigation, water supply, flood, control, etc.  It has 100 miles of shoreline and 12,960 surface acres.  

The creation of the dam meant the destruction of the town of Jacksonville.  Settled by Julian Smart in 1849, it was the principal river town in the area.  Named Jacksonville for Colonel A.M. Jackson in 1850, it was also a gathering center for the thousands of miners along the Tuolumne River.

After going through Coulterville we crossed the Merced River Bridge and headed on to Catheys Valley.  It was named for Andrew Cathey, a native of North Carolina who settled there around 1850.  It has a population of 825 people.

Most of the scenery along the highway was brown grass, growing rocks and mountains in the distance.  For a while there were dirt roads along both sides of the highway…perhaps their idea of a four lane?

Many twists and turns later, we came into the town of Mariposa.  We stopped near the Visitor’s Center to unhook the cars before traveling the last few miles to the KOA.  

After about 6 miles we saw the welcome sign for the Yosemite West/Mariposa KOA.  This area will celebrate its 100th birthday next year and will be placed in the Historical Registry.  Originally it was a stop over for folks going to Yosemite.   

There was a gas station down near the entrance and a saloon further up the hill.  Several gold mines were located up through the “hollow”.  The campground owners know a lot of history about the area and told us that there are still a lot of mining timbers up in the foothills.  And gold can still be found in the stream when the water is running.  A beautiful area, rich in history.

At 5 pm we did what we do best ------ socialize!  It’s amazing how great food magically appears when we all gather!  Hex gave us a short briefing on what will be happening over the next several days since Yosemite is closed.  No matter what we do, we’ll have fun and make the most of the situation! 

 

MAKE LEMONADE OUT OF LEMONS!!!

Submitted by:  Wayde and Emily Marshall #13