This California couple has discovered many treasures in their home state, including Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park — featured on the cover of this magazine — along with numerous other destinations across the United States.
By Kirby Ehler, F430299
June 2024
My wife, Diane, and I began camping in 1979, a few years before we got married. We started in Yosemite National Park in an old tent. I loved it, but Diane not so much. The following night we stayed at The Ahwahnee hotel in the park!
We graduated to a used pop-up tent trailer in 1983 shortly after our daughter, Lauren, was born. No more sleeping on the ground! Lauren absolutely loved going to different campgrounds and making new friends.
Sometime in the mid-1990s, while we were pop-up tent camping in Yosemite during the Thanksgiving weekend, several feet of snow fell overnight and accumulated on the top of our trailer. We woke up to an absolute marvelous sight of nature, but we were freezing! We purchased our first of five motorhomes shortly thereafter.
Diane Ehler poses with their new Tiffin Allegro Bus.
In 2001, Lauren moved to Southern California to attend college, leaving us behind in Northern California, approximately 426 miles away. For 23 years now, Diane and I have made our way to Southern California via State Route 99 and Interstate 5. I calculate we have made that round trip over 100 times and have stayed at almost every campground in between.
We love Southern California because of its diversity, charm, and warm weather. Over the years, we have witnessed campground after campground disappear and become condos or business centers. In 2013, with limited campgrounds to choose from in the greater Los Angeles area, we found one within Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas that we had no prior knowledge of. We were shocked when we called and found they had open campsites for the time we were planning to visit.
Bonelli Bluffs RV Resort and Campground (formerly East Shore RV Park) assigned us an amazing site on the bluffs overlooking Puddingstone Reservoir, which is depicted on this month’s cover. The site and campground had everything a camper could ask for: spectacular views, two pools, firepits, and ample activities, not to mention a beach! In addition, it is accessible to miles of walking trails, Raging Waters water park, and an 18-hole golf course.
San Dimas itself is a quaint little town with many restaurants and shopping opportunities. When in town, we enjoy dining at Pinnacle Peak Steakhouse. Diane and I absolutely love it there and have made the campground our weekend home on numerous occasions while visiting Lauren.
Diane and I have enjoyed two cross-country RV trips. After taking delivery of our new 2020 Tiffin Allegro Bus in August 2019, we began our journey with stops in South Dakota to view Mount Rushmore; St. Louis, Missouri; Nashville, Tennessee; Red Bay, Alabama, for a tour of the Tiffin Motorhomes plant; New Orleans, Louisiana; and San Antonio, Texas.
Before our last across-country trip from July to September in 2022, Diane was not too thrilled about spending another six to eight weeks on the road. I had to find creative ways to entice her to go and enjoy it. Unbeknownst to her, I booked tickets to see two of her favorite country performers: Vince Gill in Omaha, Nebraska, and Chris Stapleton five days later in Huntsville, Alabama! To top it off, I was able to get tickets to attend a performance of the musical Hamilton at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. She was absolutely surprised when I presented this wonderful trip and experience to her. And, yes, she did thoroughly enjoy the trip.
In the coming years, we would like to explore Nova Scotia (Oak Island) and Alaska.