Well, after over a month, we are out of the desert. The most exciting fact about that statement is that I hope to lose the constant static electricity and getting shocked every time I touch something metal in the motorhome. (Which is everything!)

We left the high desert area we’d been staying in and moved to BLM land near Lake Isabella. Not a pretty lake, but it was so nice to be by water. We camped a short walk away from Kern River which was lovely. We stayed in a recreation area called Keyesville, between the towns of Isabella and Kernville. We checked out the local attractions:

We stopped at all the attractions in town.
So Tom could play on the military equipment.
You never know what you’ll see.

Our first night “in town”, we went out for beer and pizza and it was so incredibly nice to be around people after all that desert solitude.

There were a lot of ATV trails in the area as well, so we did quite a bit of exploring. 

We found some remnants of miner’s cabins, and a homestead that had a lot of wild west shooting history: The Walker Cabin.

IMG_6313We visited the local Silver City Ghost Town – which was just a collection of old buildings that were rescued and brought together in the 1970’s. But it was still pretty cool to read about the history of the buildings and the area. Tom made friends with the resident cat – Izzy – who has his own facebook page  

We signed the guestbook, as we always do, as “rightlaners.com” And that’s where the serendipity comes in.

We were walking back to camp after going down to the river, and a young couple were getting back to their rig after mountain biking. We stopped to visit and found out they were full-timers too – their fifth month on the road. We exchanged cards – they are Reet and Julie of “Where the Wild Singhs Are”  –  and when they saw we were “the rightlaners”, they asked if we were the same ones who signed the guest book! So we had a great visit as they loaded up their bikes. We talked them into going to the Xscapers Convergence – which they may very well have not signed up for if they hadn’t heard about it from us. Serendipity at work!

The sun was setting and it was getting chilly, but they said they were going into the Kernville Brewery for drinks and invited us to go as well.

Well, let me put it this way: even though we had just had a beer night out, when it’s just been just the two of you for basically a whole month, and you’re invited for conversation. . . you go for it!

So we went to the brewery and had a nice dinner and really great conversation. When we left, Tom said “That poor couple – I don’t think we shut up the entire time.” Which isn’t entirely true, we did find out about them a bit as well. It was really nice to talk with other full timers – there are always stories to share! We all agreed that a pet peeve is when people use the plastic doggie bags – and then just leave the bag of poop on the trail! But I digress. We finally went our separate ways – us back to camp, and them to find a spot for the night.

So the next morning we get a call from Reet (who had our number because we traded calling cards). It seems that while going to their camp spot, they got stuck in some soft gravel. Would we help? Of course we would.

While driving around the lake to help them, Tom said “Aren’t you glad we have the Jeep?” He was making the point of how useful it has been, because we (mostly me) had been discussing the possibility of getting a different tow vehicle.IMG_6171

Well, we got them unstuck, had some more great visiting, met their cat (Juke), toured their RV (that they did a wonderful job redecorating) and they insisted they take us out to brunch in appreciation. How could we say no?IMG_6173

So more wonderfully deep conversations, a nice meal shared with a great couple, and we have new RV friends for life. THAT is why I love serendipity. (Because I’m all about destiny and fate!)

Happy Travels,

Peace & Love, Joy (aka joysfate)