We left again on January 19, 2022, for Tucalota Springs, which is the hills about halfway between Hemet and Temecula. We went with the Breezy Elks camping group and for the first time since we joined, we were the Wagon Masters. Apparently, the word got out to our fellow Breezy’s and only 3 other rigs came along, and all of them were brand new to the group! I was personally thankful for a small, non-knowing group when we were Wagon Masters for the first time! To be fair, there was supposed to be one other rig, but Dave and Kathy came down with COVID so stayed home.
We left a day earlier so that we could get a feel for the place and be ready to greet the rest of the group. We knew that Tucalota Springs was remote and there was no cell service, what we did not expect is that there was no wi-fi either. We had been told we would be able to make wi-fi calls, this was not true! Luckily, I let the kids know and texted them shortly before we got there. We didn’t want a repeat of Rancho Oso when Chad and Brigette called the campsite to make sure we arrived safely!
We set up camp on Wednesday including an easy-up and lights as there was no other place to meet. Since we were going to be outside, we thought we should have some light. We took a walk around the park and found a little zoo area with emus, chickens and a rooster that could not tell time! I made a taco pie for dinner, and I am really getting the hang of the oven in the trailer as I didn’t burn it at all!
Thursday the rest of the group began arriving and setting up. I had made chili and cornbread at home before the trip, so I put the chili in the crockpot and heated up the cornbread for dinner. We had a nice time visiting and a great campfire that night. It was really cold at Tucalota Springs, and I again brought the wrong clothes, as I thought it would be warmer! Luckily the heater in the trailer works really well!
Friday, we took a hike on the nearby trails and pretty much hung out at the campsite. Everyone contributed a heavy appetizer for dinner, and we had a great time. The wind kicked up, so we didn’t have a campfire. Little did we know that the wind we were experiencing was a very strong wind event with winds up to 80 mph at our homes in La Verne, San Dimas and Claremont! Where we were it hit the trailers hard at night but nothing more than we have previously experienced.
On Saturday morning I made a coffee cake in the trailer, and we picked up some blueberry muffins for breakfast for the group. Because of the spotty cell and wi-fi, Tom was surprised to get a text message from Jeff Berry telling him the extent of the windstorm and that he had checked our house an everything seemed to be OK, at least the palapa was still standing! The next text Tom received simply said “We have your dogs, please call when you get this!” After finally reaching Chad, we learned Bomber and Zoey had gotten out and Zoey didn’t have a collar on. Chad was beside himself and he couldn’t reach us or Brigette, as she and Peyton were skiing outside Las Vegas with Brigette’s sister! We drove down the hill until we got cell service and then called Chad and gave him the phone number of the person who had Bomber and Zoey. Once he reached them, they of course told him that “the big one went swimming!” They were nice enough to bring the dogs to Chad as he only had his small work truck. We have officially renamed Bomber “Bomberang” as he keeps getting out and is always returned!
Dinner on Saturday was “cook your own meat” and we grilled at our site and then had a nice fire and chatted with the rest of the group.
Sunday found people taking side trips to Temecula, if we’d known it was so close, we would have scheduled a dinner there. We came up through Hemet and thought we were really in the middle of nowhere. We had purchased hamburger and buns and so we grilled burgers for the group on Sunday night. One last campfire an it was time to think about packing up the next day.
Monday morning we packed up and headed home. For our first time as Wagon Masters we felt it went pretty well, especially since we didn’t know the area.
Here are some photos of the group
Tom and Patti's RV Adventure 