Inland California is a strange place. We’re surrounded by hills with giant boulders that look like they’re ready to roll down at any moment. It’s hard to know just how to dress — one minute it’s sunny and warm, the next, the wind is howling and you have to add another layer. The weather report doesn’t help, because there’s no less the five “regions” that they report on, and we’re still not sure which one we’re in: we’re not on the coast obviously, but are we Central Valley?, mountain? desert?. We’re in a place with elements of all of those landscapes.

Soledad Canyon is a huge park, with 800 sites. Some of it’s closed down because of a big fire they had (which was the case the last time we were here, but they’ve done some work at least. Thousand Trails has its own time zone). They have a pool here that they claim is “the largest in the west,” whatever that means. It is big, probably one of the nicest we’ve seen. Hopefully the kids will get to swim on one of the warmer days. There are warnings about coyotes, mountain lions, hawks and owls here, and, of course, rattlesnakes. We saw what looked like a wolf hanging out around the largest pool in the west, so we decided not to investigate too closely. But alas, turned out to be just a dog — we saw it running with its owner later that day. It’s very quiet here — except for the commuter and freight trains which pass by every so often.

We are about 40 miles north of LA, but we are not visiting this time. No one cares about the Hollywood sign, Leah, or the rest of that crazy place. We are down in a valley, canyon, so we’re not getting much phone or internet, so don’t expect many texts. We’re relaxing at this park as we head through this very large state. Fun to bike around in this huge park. See yas on the road.