A sunset view of Lake Alpine in the Stanislaus National Forest in Utah: Glynn Wilson
Tales From the MoJo Road –
By Glynn Wilson –
COULTERVILLE, Ca. – It’s been the dream trip of a lifetime.
Making it was never guaranteed, like all those souls who set out by horse and wagon to go west in the 19th century after President Thomas Jefferson negotiated a treaty with France in 1803 and paid $15 million for the Louisiana Territory, 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River, effectively doubling the size of the young nation.
But I did it, me and Gwyneth Ford, all the way from Washington, D.C. to the western shadow of Yosemite, in three weeks and a day.
Of course the best part is yet to come, when we get finished setting up camp and then make the 45 minute drive up into Yosemite National Park to see it for ourselves.
It’s about a 30 mile, 45 minute drive from here to Yosemite: NAJ screen shot
But first there is some business to take care of here in my new home town, which already reminds me of Cicely, Alaska from the show “Northern Exposure” that ran on CBS from 1990 to 1995. I would not be surprised to see a black bear or moose meander down the street. According to the 2020 census, the population had dropped below 200.
I’ve already figured out the theme song for our new FM radio station, Iris DeMent’s “Our Town.” The name and call letters of the radio station are going to be “NEVERMORE KNHA-LP” at 100.9 on the radio dial. The logo will include a Raven as the mascot, operating as a non-profit under the name “Operation New Earth.”
High Points of The Drive
The high points were four days in St. Louis, Missouri, where we got to network with voters concerned about citizen initiative rights and democracy under threat from a Republican governor and legislature. Then three days in Denver where we networked with volunteers helping U.S. veterans, now facing more cuts to their benefits by the administration in Washington. And over all eight days in Colorado, where we finally got to see and camp in Rocky Mountain National Park.
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After we finally left Colorado, I scouted some free dispersed camping sites on land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management in Utah. Never found the campground they had available for reservations on Recreation dot gov. But found an amazing little pull off site off a gravel road by a memorial rock, with a short trail up to an old metal picnic table chained to the ground. After crossing the long valley from one mountain chain to the next, tired of the long rough ride down the gravel road, we stopped at the top of a rise just in time to watch the sunset with a brew and a smoke.
A view of the mountains in Utah from a free, dispersed camping site on BLM land west of Provo, Utah: Glynn Wilson
After that the plan was to make it north to U.S. Highway 80 and get across the rest of Utah and Nevada and make it to Reno in time to camp for the night. We found an available camp site, in a downtown RV parking lot, which was rare since the entire town had been taken over by biker gangs for the weekend. The same was true of Carson City, the Nevada state capital, and Virginia City, a little tourist trap of a town where the bikers had taken over all the bars and restaurants. In fact, the entire street was lined on both sides by Harleys and other motorcycles, and the place was crawling with drunk, Trump supporting biker gangs.
I had to get out of there fast, so plugged in “state park” in the Apple map and found a site available on Saturday night, believe it or not, in a place to the south and west called Grover Hot Springs State Park. The state line sign was so small and nondescript I didn’t even notice passing into California. It was a lovely spot, but no power hookups or cell phone service. They did have WiFi by the ranger office.
A view of the entrance to Grover Hot Springs State Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California: Glynn Wilson
A view of a Sierra Nevada Mountain ridge in the Grover Hot Springs State Park in California: Glynn Wilson
So the next day I backtracked to Nevada to pick up some supplies and filled up the gas tank for under $4 a gallon before crossing back into California and completing the drive through the Stanislaus National Forest.
We made it to California in three weeks and a day from Washington, D.C.: Glynn Wilson
I stopped for lunch by a beautiful little creek, and camped one more night there off the side of the road in a free dispersed camping site.
A view of a creek in the Stanislaus National Forest in California where we stopped for lunch on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025: Glynn Wilson
A view of a creek in the Stanislaus National Forest in California where we stopped for lunch on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025: Glynn Wilson
A sunset view from the last free dispersed camping site in the Stanislaus National Forest where we spent Sunday night, Sept. 28, 2005: Glynn Wilson
Then on Monday, I stopped in the Big Tree State Park where we heard there were groves of inland Sequoia trees.
The first Sequoia tree I had ever seen in Big Tree State Park in the Stanislaus National Forest in California: Glynn Wilson
That’s me by the first Sequoia tree I had ever seen in Big Tree State Park in the Stanislaus National Forest in California: Glynn Wilson
An inland Sequoia tree in Big Tree State Park in the Stanislaus National Forest in California: Glynn Wilson
Then I made my way all the way to Coulterville, a historic town on the edge of Yosemite National Park.
A view of Main Street in Coulterville, California from Highway 49 and the historic Hotel Jeffery: Glynn Wilson
Public Radio – Government Shutdown
I hear on what’s left of public radio that they are about to shut down the U.S. government again in Washington. The politicians just can’t seem to even agree to keep the damn government running anymore, while the dictator-in-chief just keeps on screwing everything up, like we knew he would.
Oh, well. I’ll be operating on California-Pacific Time from now on, baby, and doing it from a base where we can keep up with Governor Gavin Newsom’s campaign to help take back Congress in 2026 and the White House in 2028.
Oh, and we will have an announcement soon about a new media and social media company we will be launching from here. I’ve hooked up with a guy who has a lot of experience writing and pitching business plans for such things to venture capital sources in Silicon Valley and San Francisco. He also has an apartment I can use anytime in San Francisco and a bungalow on Venice Beach outside of Los Angeles.
My timing on this trip could not have worked out better. The new formula for success is: Preparation+Opportunity+Timing=Success. Believe it, or not.
More Photos
A view of some big white fir and sugar pine trees by the Kinney Reservoir in the Stanislaus National Forest in California: Glynn Wilson
A view of some big white fir and sugar pine trees by the Kinney Reservoir in the Stanislaus National Forest in California: Glynn Wilson
A statue of a mama bear and her cub at the Ranger Station in Big Tree State Park in the Stanislaus National Forest in California: Glynn Wilson
The “big stump” of a giant Inland Sequoia tree in Big Tree State Park in the Stanislaus National Forest in California: Glynn Wilson
The trailhead leading to a grove of Inland Sequoia trees in the Stanislaus National Forest: Glynn Wilson
Sequoia trees and the “big stump” in Big Tree State Park in the Stanislaus National Forest in California: Glynn Wilson
The trailhead leading to a grove of Inland Sequoia trees in the Stanislaus National Forest: Glynn Wilson
A giant pine cone from a Sugar Pine in the Stanislaus National Forest in California: Glynn Wilson
Whistling Billy Engine No. 49 along Highway 49 in Coulterville, California: Glynn Wilson
