TRAVEL DAY
From: Happy Time RV Park, Dunnigan, CA.
To: Bushay Army Corps of Engineers Campground, Lake Mendocino Recreation Area, Ukiah, CA.
Day 161 – Today is a travel day and it will be another one-night stopover. We departed Happy Time at 10:25 a.m. It was 63 degrees, sunny, and quite windy. Not too windy to travel, though. We arrived at our destination at 1:20 p.m. after stops for gas and propane in the RV and for a lunch break.
Our journey started out with the I-5 north; nothing new there. When we reached CA-20, we headed west and it was a very beautiful drive on a two-lane highway (that wound up and through the coastal range and into an area of wonderful green trees and deep blue lakes). We had never been on Route 20 before; it was great with fantastic scenery and not too much traffic. Unfortunately this area was one of those that had wildfires in the past couple of years and some of the hills had the charred remains and mudslides to show for that time. Since we’ll probably be encountering plenty of these lands in the next month, I didn’t take pictures. I stuck to the greenery. For wildlife, we saw Hawks, Turkey Vultures, Osprey, Turkey, Elk, Cows, Horses, Goats, Sheep, Llama, Rabbits, and Squirrels. One mountain had some snow on top of it, and all along the 20, there were signs that indicated chains or snow tires could be needed in the winter.
Our destination was Bushay ACE Campground at Lake Mendocino Recreation Area. We’d been to Lake Mendocino previously in 2017, and we stayed at a different campground, Kyen ACE Campground. We would’ve stayed there again this time but it was closed. We ended up with an excellent campsite, #79. Since there were only a few people camping, this site which had a great view of the Lake, was available. (But it should be noted for the future that this campsite is right beside the Day Use Area playground. Under different circumstances this would not have been a good place to camp.)
After setting up, we sat outside in our chairs overlooking the Lake for most of the afternoon – no tent set up for only one night – it was 71 degrees, sunny, and breezy. We walked around and took a few pictures from around our site.
Tomorrow we drive through some Redwood forests and also finally reach the coast. Then we’ll slow down the pace again somewhat and take some time to revisit some of our favorite places from our last time in northern California.
For more detailed information about Bushay Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) Campground, click here.