About a year and a half ago James and I decided we wanted another Range Rover Classic. I was the main force behind this decision. When I first met James in 1995, he had a Series III, 88 inch wheel base Land Rover.
We went on a trip to Moab and met up with a friend from Colorado. He had a Range Rover. I was hooked and the next year, I came back with a Range Rover of my own. We used that Range Rover at our wedding, brought Grace home from the hospital, and drove it to over 290,000 miles. Our wedding picture with the Rover is still on our photographer’s website – Linda Story Photos. I love the Dormobile, but it is hard to drive, and I missed the ease of a modern car, and my old Range Rover.
We had looked at multiple different RRC’s. Then this spring one of our Land Rover friends in Northern California put his on the market. We knew this was the one we had been waiting for. I showed Grace a picture of it, she was so excited. She said, “It is just right for us. The Dormobile has a green body with a white roof and this Range Rover has a green body with a white roof.” She was so excited and then at dinner that night said, “I have got it!! We have a Dormobile and now we will have a “Rangemobile!” It is kind of ironic because in 1999 both our Dormobile and our Range Rover were on a Mendo Club trip around the Four Corners area. Back then the Rangemobile was white. It got new body panels after a trip through the Rubicon.
So this summer we were off on another great adventure. One could argue that buying a 19-year-old Range Rover is silly, buying one 1000 miles away is crazy, and setting off on that long road trip to pick it up in a 43-year-old Land Rover in the hot summer months is foolhardy. I just think of it as being optimistic.
After two long hot days of travel across the desert we were there. Here are some of my favorite spots along the way.
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Paso Robles
James and I had traveled through here in 1999 and loved all the wineries. We made a point to hit a couple of our favorite wineries and found some new favorites.
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Elephant Seals
About a mile north of Hearst Castle there is a beach where Elephant Seals hang out. It is very cool to see them in their natural habitat. These seals even have their own webcam!
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Camping at Laguna Seca Raceway
This was so unique for me!!! There was no need for an alarm clock. We were woken up bright and early by the race cars. So fun to eat breakfast and watch the races!!!
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Golden Gate Bridge
Grace was so excited about getting to go and take the Dormobile over the Golden Gate Bridge. She was so sure we could get a shot of the Dormobile on the bridge. When we told her that would be just about impossible, she understood once we were there. She loved it all the same.
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Camping on the beach at Bodega Bay
Grace played and played in the freezing water. Grace’s lips were blue and she was shivering, and when she finally got out all she could say was, “I am not cold!”
Visit to Korbel Winery
In the Russian River Valley there are many wineries. We really enjoyed the Korbel winery. We found out that Korbel “Natural” is the Champagne that has been served at every Presidential Inauguration since the early 1900”s. So, drinking it is kind of fun!!! (Cost Plus sells it.) The winery also has a cool history of immigrants who came to this country for a better life and found it.
Camping in the Redwood Forest
We camped one night among the Giant Redwoods. So Cool!!! Plus, we had purchased some crab right off the dock and had Champagne and fresh crab for dinner. Yum!!
Redwood Forest where “Return of the Jedi” was filmed
This drive was kind of surreal. We kept thinking a Storm Trooper would come out around a tree, or that two legged robot thing would appear. It was a fun drive. I wish we would have had the Star Wars score on our MP3 players. I would have downloaded it if we would have had cell phone service, instead we just imagined.
Picking up the Rangemobile
June 21st – This was our 14th wedding anniversary. Did you know 14 is the Range Rover anniversary? We arrived at Granville’s house to pick up my Range Rover. We have known Granville and Melanie for many years and they were gracious hosts to James, Grace and I. They have chickens and roosters, one rooster kept trying to attack me. Their dog, Rosie, always came to my rescue. Grace loved Rosie and seeing all the chickens.
Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks – Half of a day is not enough time to explore these parks. We will be back at some point in the future. The drive through the Giants is not to be missed. One of the most interesting things I learned was that they cut down a 24 ft diameter tree to take to the World’s Fair in 1912. They could not transport the whole tree so they just took a cross section of the tree, and the World’s Fair would not let them display it, because they thought it was a hoax.
Homeward Bound
We drove early in the morning and late in the day, since neither car had air conditioning. Around Needles, we had an issue with the infamous ignition module overheating on the Range Rover, so James squirted water on it and the engine fired right up again. The sunroof also had a rock hit it while on Highway 95 in California and shattered. We duct taped it and drove on home.
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The trip up Highway 1 was awesome. I am so happy to have the new addition to our family of cars. Our adventures with it are just beginning. Grace is already talking about how she is going to learn to drive on the Rangemobile. I can’t wait to teach her. I have a feeling it won’t be too long before she is driving off pavement.
