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Articles for ‘Tours’

West Coast Bird Watching Road Trip

Tuesday, August 16th, 2016

Are you an avid bird watcher or simply like to take in the sights? Check out this west coast road trip that features birding to see some of the most exotic birds in the USA.

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Port Lavaca, Texas
The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is a great place to start off the trip. With 54,000 acres, this refuge is most famous for its rarest bird, the whooping crane. Out of the 250 left in the world, more than 100 of this highly endangered species usually arrive here between mid-October and early April. To protect the cranes, visitors can view them only by boat, but it’s well worth the trip. 5,000 acres of the refuge is accessible by car and on foot making sightings of many herons and egrets, sandhill cranes, waterfowl, shorebirds, and terns plentiful during the winter months.

Whooping Crane in flight
Photo credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture – Flickr: 20110214-USDA-JN-0001 by John Noll

Cave Creek Canyon, Portal, Arizona
After hitting up the wildlife refuge, head west to southern Arizona. There are many outstanding birding locales in southern Arizona, however, Cave Creek is of special interest. The canyon not only houses a wide variety of species in a small area but also many essentially Mexican birds. These birds don’t venture much farther north then Cave Creek including the elegant trogon, the painted redstart, and many hummingbirds.

Trogon perched on a branch in Cave Creek Canyon

Photo credit: Nick Athanas

Monterey Peninsula, California
Next, head towards California and take a drive up Highway One to Monterey and keep an eye out for saltwater ducks, gulls, and alcids such as guillemots, murres, and other puffin like birds on the municipal wharf and the Coast Guard pier. If you’re looking for a California native, the chestnut-backed chickadee can be found in the hills of Monterey cypress and pine.

Chestnut Backed Chickadee on a brand
Photo credit: jkcassady.com

Yosemite National Park, California
Yosemite is a unique birding locale as it offers 1,189 accessible square miles with elevations that range from 2,000 to 13,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada range. Due to the cross-section of habitats, birds that are typically in more northerly locations, such as Canada, can easily be seen. The great gray owl, pine grosbeak, calliope hummingbird, white-headed woodpecker, and many more.

Great Gray Owl in Yosemite National Park
Photo credit: Cameron Rognan

Tule Lake, California
If you couldn’t get enough waterbirds, head up to Tule Lake which houses three national wildlife refuges – Clear Lake (not open to the public), Lower Klamath and Tule Lake itself. In the dry uplands, you can spot the rarely seen sage grouse and in the fall hundreds of thousands of ducks, geese, and swans stop here before continuing their migration south.

Sage Grouse Tule Lake
Photo credit: Snowmanradio, Wikipedia

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Happy Holidays

Saturday, December 26th, 2015

Christmas themed RV Wishing everyone a very happy holiday and an adventurous New Year!

This boxing day season we also offer the best price guarantee. All sales numbers are already updated in our system to provide you with the best price for your next fun RV road trip adventure.

California Wine Road Trips

Thursday, October 15th, 2015

We’re incredibly lucky to have one of the top locations in the world for wine tasting right in our own backyard. When people think of the best vineyards, they think of California. And why not? California boasts cozy caverns, scenic vineyards, and more than 50 types of grapes. What better way to tour the top California wine regions then in an RV. Your home away from home is ready and waiting.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
When most people think of So-Cal they think of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Malibu. For the wine lover, winemaking has been taking place in these wine regions since the late 1700s. Grab some lunch and road trip up to the high elevation wineries in Malibu. Elevations range from sea level to 3,111 feet at Sandstone Peak. The newly granted Malibu Coast AVA is mainly in the Santa Monica Mountains and is about 46 miles long and 8 miles wide and includes 198 acres of vines for 52 grape growers. The high elevation in this region’s climate, soils, and unique aspects affect the taste of the wine produced. Why does this matter? It matters because the combination produces the delicious wine we know and love in Malibu.

Malibu Wine Road Trip

While driving along the coast, don’t forget to stop by Mission San Diego de Alcala, as they are home to the oldest grapes in California. About an hour northeast of San Diego, off the beaten path, you can stumble upon Temecula. Best known for their Italian and Rhône varietals and the annual Balloon and Wine Festival. The Cucamonga Valley should also be on your hit list. Famous for preserving the past with historic vineyards and ranches and their old-vine Zinfandel and Port-style wines.

Hot air balloon being filled with flames to create heat. Man on the left operating the hot air dispenser. Image is in full colour.
HIGHWAY 1 – THE CENTRAL COAST.
If you’re doing a California road trip, how can you not drive highway 1? The coastal ocean views, the winding road, the wine along the way. Starting in LA, a quick two-hour drive north make sure to stop downtown Santa Barbara for lunch and visit beautiful State Street and sample some of the regional wines at one of the street’s many tasting rooms. From there head inland. The Paso Robles wine region is unique as the day/night temperature swings create bold red wines that are a must. Paso Robles is about halfway between LA and San Fran.

Paso Robles VIneyards

Continue heading north towards Monterey and stop by A Taste of Monterey, the region’s official wine visitors center. You can learn all about Monterey Bay’s unique landscape and how it affects the vineyards, sample the region’s wine, and maybe spot the whales migrating.

SAN FRANCISCO.
Next stop, San Fran. Home of amazing restaurants, fresh local foods, and the urban wine movement. During the day, wine and dine on Fisherman’s Wharf, then head to Jackson Square and sample wines at the various wine bars downtown. Fisherman's Wharf San Francisco

NAPA VALLEY.
Any road trip that’s centered around wine tasting isn’t complete without stopping in Napa Valley. Just an hour northeast of San Francisco, start the day wandering downtown Napa and enjoy some local wines at the Oxbow Public Market. Head up Highway 29 to fill your sights with what Napa Valley has to offer, stopping at renowned wineries for tastings. Keep an eye out for the landmark sign “Wine is bottled poetry” as quoted by Robert Louis Stevenson after a visit to Napa Valley in the 1880s. Known for its life-change Cabernet, Napa Valley boasts tiered hillsides, wine caverns, and illustrious estates, making for stellar scenery every wine lover will swoon over.

Napa Valley Wine Country Road Trip
SONOMA COUNTRY. 
Sonoma Valley, also known as Valley of the Moon offers a bit more laid back atmosphere in comparison to Napa Valley. However, there are still more than 400 wineries with some of the best being: Chateau St. Jean, Simi, Sebastiani, Rodney Strong, Marcassin, Paul Hobbs, La Crema, and Kistler. The Sonoma Valley is known for its cool-climate Pinot Noirs. Be sure to taste a variety. While in the valley, Sonoma Plaza lies in the heart and offers a historic view of the country.

Sonoma Valley Wine Country Road Trip

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