Thousand Trails: Lake of the Springs

Name:  ThousandTrails Lake of the Springs
Location:  Oregon House, California
Sewer:  not likely
Water:  Yes
Power:  50A in some sites
Cable:  None
WIFI:  At the lodge - slow.
Cellular:  Non existent
Comments:  A true RV resort very appropriate for families with children.

In Oregon House California between Yuba City and Grass Valley is Los Verjeles Dam.  Built in 1918,  this worthwhile structure on Dry Creek is the dam for Lake Mildred or as Thousand Trails likes to call it, Lake of the Springs.

With 556 individual spots, Lake of the Springs is a very large RV, cabin and tent resort that is also open to the general public.  The lake is of course the main draw, as is a very fine lodge.

Once you enter the resort from the Ranger Station, you drive up the mountain ridge past the I and G sections.  These sections are somewhat desert like and probably the least desirable sections in the resort - however they do have a number of sites that are occupied by annual campers.  Probably due to cell phone coverage.

At the peak of the hills you will notice a "cell phone" parking area.  In the cell phone parking area you can - if you have the right carrier (AT&T?) - get a marginal cell,     There is no cell phone coverage in the rest of the resort.  The lodge, further down the hill has marginal WiFi.

If you are in Motorhome with a toad, the recommendation is that you drive all the way down to the resort grocery / ice cream store, disconnect the toad in the large parking lot and then go site scouting.

It appears that most sites have 50Amp power and water and there is a smattering of sewer sites scattered about, mostly near the rest rooms.  The exception is "X" section which was reportedly built for PG&E crew which is all sewer sites and as result usually full.   Thousand Trails seems to be slowly converting the sewer sites to Cabins.

There are plenty of facilities for activities for individuals and groups including a large group BBQ areas and a rarity among Thousand Trails Resorts, a baseball diamond.   They had a very fine children's playground.   Boats can be rented for roaming around on Lake Mildred.

 We were there during the Covid-19 outbreak and lot of the facilities, including a very fine looking pool area and the lodge restaurant were closed.

We were there for Fourth of July weekend - we needed to get the dog out of the madness of the Sacramento fireworks.  The lower sites near the lake were full, but the upper sites near the ridge had plenty of openings.

The staff was pleasant and helpful.

Because of the cellular service and lack of wifi, I would not recommend this campground for anyone work camping - there is an Indian Casino in Oroville that is probably re appropriate.  But if you are looking for a getaway Thousands Trails, this is one.

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Thousand Trails Yosemite Lake

Another weekend jaunt this time to the Famous Yosemite National Park.

Name:  ThousandTrails Yosemite Lake
Location:  Groveland, California
Sewer:  Yes
Water:  Yes
Power:  30A with 50A in some sites
Cable:  None
WIFI:  Available for fee
Cellular:  Non existent
Comments:  A lot of folks consider Yosemite Lakes the Crown Jewel of the ThousandTrails.  Yup.  I wish all Thousand Trails were as well maintained and managed as this wonderous place.   Spacious sites, very green.   About 8 miles from the Yosemite gate.  The lodge is not be missed.

Thousand Trails Turtle Bay (Manteca California)

A weekend jaunt from our home base in Sacramento to the nearby town of Manteca.

We stayed at the Thousand Trails Turtle Bay.

This is a small (they say they are the smallest) Thousand Trails along side the San Joaquin River.   It is down some narrow roads not far from the site of the now defunct Manteca Oakwood Lake Resort and it's famous water slide.  Sadly nothing remains of the famous water park except perhaps the old RV park which seems to be full of permanent RVs.

A quick summary which I may cross post to the Thousand Trails facebook group

Name:  Thousand Trails Turtle Bay
Location:  Manteca, California
Sewer:  Some.  Have to request a sewer site
Water:  Yes
Power:  Appears to be 30Amp only
Cable:  None
WIFI:  Available for fee
Cellular:  Good. (T-Mobile)
Comments:  Spacious sites, very green.  Appears to have a large day-use business of people picnicking and fishing (stripers).  Friendly staff.

Home From Alaska

We made it home and have started resuming our working lifes. 7761 miles and 1214 gallons later.

I thought it would be good idea to share some of what we learned on our 2019 trip:

1. The ALCAN is very drivable. There were sections that were under repair and a couple of sections

that needed repair. I would feel comfortable driving the ALCAN in any car in good repair.

2. Top-Of-the-World - not so much. We did it in a 37 ft Motorhome. Probably won't do it again.

3. Road contruction in Canada/Alaska can be a trial. Just take it easy and wait for the pilot car.

4. You can hear just about anything when talking to people. For example we heard everything about the Daulton from "put two wheels on it and it will destroy your car" to "its paved all the way to Artic Circle and a Smart Car drove it to Prudhoe Bay."

5. British Columbia and Yukon are a trip. They deserve much more from the Alaska Traveler that just a pass thru

6. Related...Liard Hot Springs should not be missed. Plan on spending a couple of days in Whitehorse.

7. For Ford owners: Tow/Haul is your friend but...

8. Disengage Tow/Haul before turning off the highway. The downshift can be impressive.

9. With proper fuel management, you can avoid the $1.90 per liter gasoline.

10. I was impressed with Fairbanks. Not so much with Anchorage.

11. Room darkening curtains are a must.

12. The best cinnamon buns in the world are at Tetsa River Glenn Lodge

13. Get your RV to Alaska 2020 stickers early. We missed ours.

We are going again next year.

Whitehorse to Anchorage

Destruction BayFrom Whitehorse, we continued on the ALCAN.  Wildlife sightings weren't quite as prolific as they were during the previous leg - a couple of foxes were about it.

The run into Destruction Bay was pretty much a cake walk.  The reason we mention this, is that Destruction Bay is one of the places that is legendary among ALCANers  as having incredibly rough roads.

Well, the Canadian government finally got around to re-doing the roads.  There were a couple of sections under construction that were not so much fun, but pretty routine.

Destruction Bay itself wasn't too much - just some houses and the usual road side businesses.
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Alaska Border Crossing 

After Destruction Bay, we crossed into Alaska at what I think is the second most remote border crossing.  I had a brain fart and when asked if this was my first time into Alaska, I said "yes!" Even though we had all been many times via airplanes and cruise ships:  I was thinking "first time driving."

Fortunately the Bofrder Agent laughed it off and proceeded to warn us about the road ahead.

He was not kidding.  Just after the border station, was some of the worst road we had encountered to date.  The road typifies the word "frost heave".  We went up and down, up and down for quite a few miles before the road smoothed out

Tanana River

It was pretty late when we crossed into Alaska show we boondocked at a roadside boat launching ramp on the Tanana river.   This is just off the highway immediately past the river.  It offers reasonably flat parking, quiet and we were quite happy to boondock in the one of the long parking places designed for vehicles with boat trailers.

We will caveat this by mentioning that on the other side of the highway and the other side of the river is a rest top commemorating the old Tanana River Bridge.  It is quite pretty and interesting but it is not RV - particularly big RV friendly - you can get turned around in there, but parking might be an issue.

Nobody came to launch or unlaunch a boat the time we were there.

Tok

They say in Alaska "All roads lead to Tok".  And that is pretty much true.

Tok has a Valero station that is worth mentioning.  Not only fuel, but it offers free dump and RV wash.  It has earned a spot in the GPS.  From Tok we took the Tok cutoff and met with many miles of construction.

One of the more spectacular parts of the Tok cutoff was the Matsunga Glacier.  The road parallels the glacier and the runoff.

Anchorage

During this trip, we stayed in Anchorage twice.  I was not terribly impressed with Anchorage.  The only thing of note was the headquarters of Great Alaskan Holidays.  It turns out none of the Ford dealers in Alaska can service Motorhome chassis and Great Alaskan is the recommended service center for Ford Motorhomes.

Hmmm.  The Ford dealer in Whitehorse could service it....

Seward and Homer

Seward
After the first stop in Anchorage, we went to Seward.  Seward is a waterfront town that at one point was the shipping center of Alaska.  It was virtually wiped out in the Alaskan Earthquake and it was deemed unsafe to rebuild the port facilities.

So the good people of Seward rebuilt their waterfront as a large recreational area with camping for both tenters and RVs.  They charge a reasonable fee for nice flat sites

Homer
At Homer we stayed in two commercial RV parks  and a city run dry camping on the spit

Watson Lake, Tetsa Lake and Whitehorse Yukon

After we pulled out of Liard, we proceeded to Watson Lake, Yukon.

Watson Lake is the home of the world famous Sign Forest.  This is a tradition that got started back in WWII when a homesick GI working on the original Alaska Highway made a milepost marker that included a arrow pointing and the distance to his hometown.

Watson Lake History

Over the years, travelers along the ALCAN have stopped and left their own signs for people to admire.  The town of Watson Lake supports this activity, dedicating land and wooden sign posts for people to hang their signs.  It has grown to probably an acre of densely populated signs.

Good luck finding any particular sign in there.  We tried to find the KYD (see you tube for the KYD stuff) sign, but had no luck.

All and all we found the Sign Forest to be a worthwhile and interesting stop, however I doubt we will stop there again until we have a sign to post.  Note to self:  Make it metal....

We did go to the Northern Lights Center across the highway from the Sign Forest and enjoyed their presentation of the Aurora Borealis.  This is a planetarium like theater and is quite good.

We stayed one night in a full hook-up RV park in Watson Lake.  All the RV parks are essentially parking lots with semi and full hookups.  Nothing remarkable there.

Tetsa River

We took off for White Horse the next day and overnighted in a RV park in the rural mountain area at the Tetsa River Lodge and RV park.  This was a rustic RV park where the water was supplied to our site via a garden hose and 15 amp power via an extension cord.  The generator did not sound healthy so we declined the electricity and lived on our own generator.

This place claims to have the "Best Cinnamon Rolls in the Center of the Galactic Cluster".  They may well be.  The Cinnamon Rolls earned them a spot in the RVs GPS for future stops.

Whitehorse

Most RVers consider Whitehorse a point along the way - They stop an Walmart, fill-up and are on their way. They are missing one of the most interesting places in Canada.

There are many museums in town, excellent restaurants and wonderful natural history.  One of my favorites was the "Worlds Largest Weathervane".  This is a real DC-3 mounted on a pole and is turned by the wind.

Whitehorse is the start of the Yukon River and one if its claims to fame is the worlds longest fish ladder.

Claire at the headwaters of the Yukon

The Worlds Longest Fish Ladder

Headwaters of the Yukon

We stayed in Whitehorse for about 10 days for logistical reasons, but we were not bored at all.  We will be stopping at Whitehorse during our return leg.