San Benito

We are currently at the San Benito Thousand Trails Park south of Hollister, California. According to our mapping programs the shortest route was to head west and then south through the east bay area and down through San Jose. But it was only about 15 miles longer for us to head west to I-5 and take a rural route. For us it was an easy choice as we generally prefer to avoid the larger urban areas with the bus if reasonably possible. So we left Isleton on Sunday and drove west on highway 12 a few miles to fill up the bus at the Flying J at Lodi. We then headed down I-5 and turned west and crossed over Pacheco Pass and South through the town of Hollister. It was an easy drive. We are arguably in southern California now. Many maps divide the state into northern and southern pages. When they do this area is near the top of the southern half. And we have been seeing some palm trees with to us is an indicator of a warmer climate. The weather is nice and we are happy.

The park itself is several miles off the road just south of the tiny town of Paicines. We stayed here for a couple of days in a rented trailer 7 years ago. We thought then that it was a very nice park and area and we wanted to return. It is a surprising large and remote park. The sites are large and flat with many huge maple and oak trees. The terrain is a hilly semi desert country, with a lot of wildlife. We see a lot of deer in the park. We have seen a small herd of buffalo just outside the park. We have also seen bobcats in the park. There are wild pigs in the park. We have not seen them but there are a lot of holes that they did. The area seems to have some large ranches and is really quite different from the urban stereotypes that most people in other parts of the country bring to mind when they think of California.Just before you enter the campground across the road you will find buffalo, a small herd.

There also are a couple of bob cats in the park and wild pigs that really dug up our campsite.



Barbara is getting medical attention for a problem with her ankle. She fell when we were in British Columbia about 2 months ago and has had recurring problems. She saw a doctor Monday and had an MRI Tuesday. She is waiting now to see an orthopedic doctor. We may need to stay in the area longer to get treatment completed.

Bob and Julie came in Tuesday. We have not been traveling together but instead keeping in touch and kind of hopscotching. Three of us played pickleball today while Barb was at the doctor. It would be nice if there were some other players here.