Hello All, Well, after doing a quick tune-up and oil change this morning, the 4Runner passed the biannual smog test with flying colors! Another 2 years! Wooohoooo!
Ava and I had a quick lunch and headed out to see what Frank Raines is like. We took 280 to 580 East to I5 and then down to Patterson. The road in from Patterson is a twisty two lane road with some unusual hazards. Live cows right on the road with you. The OHV park entrance is right at a nice camping spot 16 miles from I5. We took a quick tour of the camp ground, but didn’t see Darrel, so I thought there might be another campground on further up the road.
We drove another 2 miles up the road, but it was apparent that we were leaving the park area so we turned around. About a mile from the campground we could see Ed’s truck leading a group of jeeps down a ridgeline so I hailed him on the CB. It sounded like they were having a great time. Ed told us which camp site they were using so we continued to the campground and hung around for about 40 minutes until they returned.
It was a beautifully clear day, but windy and a bit cool. I gathered from my brief conversations with Ed and Tom that they had a great time. I’ll plan on participating the next outing here.
We decided to return by continuing west until we met Mines road and heading north to Livermore. It was a long and twisty 31 miles. Saw lots of ice in the ditches next to the road, although there was plenty of sand on the roads. Saw many deer, and cows, but they were all off of the road this time! I don’t recommend this route either — the long way via Patterson is the preferred route.
Dennis
Ava’s 2-cents worth: It’s the freeway HOME next time. I’m all for nature and all that other stuff, but my butt doesn’t go for sittin’ in the truck for any longer than 3 minutes!!!!