California - Day 6 - in the Barstow campground

Barstow/Calico KOA, Yermo

Sunday, 6 March 2020

I spent today trying to plan some upcoming routes, what I wanted to see and how to get there.  It was surprising how hard that was, with the problem being that I can't seem to keep in mind that California is the 3rd largest state in the Union.  That means it's big.  But its bigness is spread out and bent halfway along so, unlike with New Mexico and Arizona and Montana, it just doesn't look big to me.  But the miles on the highway have to be traveled to get anywhere, and the way I drive this RV, that takes time.  All of which meant I couldn't see everything I wanted to see.

Specifically, I wasn't going to be able to see anything south of Los Angeles - like for instance San Diego.  I really wanted to get down there, because I have memories of it being a beautiful part of the state.  But between the serious distances, the wild price of gasoline, and the high cost of campgrounds I'm finding here, I just couldn't figure out how I could afford to get down there even if I had time.  So that whole chunk of the state has to go on the next-trip list.  What a shame.

The campground had a lot of these trees, some of them like this one quite large.  I'd've had to stand a long way back to include the top of it.  My best guess is that they're eucalyptus trees, though I haven't seen one in a long time so am not sure.

Otherwise, the roads were all gravel, which Gracie doesn't like very much but which simplify poop cleanup for me.

The campground's name includes Calico, which I learned is a professional ghost town not far from here.  Meaning it really doesn't exist any longer but has been sort of revived for tourists, and it's heavily promoted in this area.

So the campground is closer to the tiny town of Yermo than to Barstow, yet the campground's name includes both Barstow and Calico (which doesn't exist) and not Yermo (which does).  And that's what reality looks like these days I guess.