Lake Sonoma–Liberty Glen, Wild Pigs

 

You may recall that on a recent trip to Vancouver Island, I found that my propane would not switch to or use the full tank on the other side of the rig.  After consulting a few RV places – who suggested making an appointment, or to start replacing hoses, I stopped in at Triangle RV in Sidney, BC.

There, they correctly deduced that there was an extra regulator in the system, effectively double-regulating that tank and lowering the pressure so that the automatic switch thought it was empty.  I removed the regulator, and everything has been working just fine ever since.  Thanks for the good advice and a free solution.  Anyone want to buy a used regulator!

We had just arrived at the coast, and the first stop was at Ccrane in Fortuna.  They are essentially a mail-order business, but they do sell in person if you know how to find them.  I needed another wi-fire wi-fi antenna for my windows 7 computer.  My previous version still works fine with the old laptop, but is not compatible with 7.  These are the best thing around for getting wi-fi with weak signal strength.

Then I did battle with the Shell station there – only needed about 4 trips inside to guess at how much fuel I would need, etc.  Other folks have had success with the old ‘postal code and add 2 zeros’ trick, but that one has never every worked for me at a variety of stations and states.

In the dark, using my backroads map book, I found an ocean-front view spot to spend the night.  A bit rustic, but quiet except for the pounding surf.  My map said it was near the wreck of the ‘Northerner’, which went down with 38 souls in 1860.  Sure enough, there was a cross and a plaque visible on a hill in the distance. I climbed up to check it out.

Next I headed for a place I had discovered last January called Lake Sonoma.  The campground is called Liberty Glen, and it is very unique in that it is built on ridges, high over the lake with great views, but very steep roads, and no two campsites are at the same elevation.  The dam that formed the lake and the campground were built by the Army Corps of Engineers.  Ironically, the lake holds hundred of thousands of acre-feet of water, but there is none in the campground!  Apparently a well failed, but it has not changed since January when I was last here.  But I don’t need water, and at $10, the price is right.  Sunny and warm and quiet and calm and almost deserted.  My kind of place!  Very scenic, too.

I went for a hike down towards the lake.I think this is a bat house?

A lot of the ground has been dug up – apparently by wild pigs.  I only caught glimpses of some grunting in the trees, but large areas look like they have been rototilled.  There is a hunting season on them, so perhaps they are good to eat?

On the ‘tech’ front, I had been meaning to conduct a test to see if I could get TV signal from the same dish I use for the internet.   After only a minute or so of waving the LNB in front of the dish, I found the sweet spot.  With the help of a sacrificed coat hanger, I soon had it temporarily in place with a great signal strength.  I’ll have to work on a more permanent attachment, but for now it is working fine.