American Thanksgiving
We pulled into Russian River Thousand Trails on American Thanksgiving day. The campground was quiet and we managed to spot a large, easy-to-access campsite. This is always a blessing since our 50-foot setup is less maneuverable than a Class C camper. We even discovered that our spot had a pathway to a giant ‘camping’ sign that lit up the night.
A thanksgiving potluck was on the campground schedule for the evening. We hoped there would be a couple of empty chairs available for us and decided that a pan of chocolate rice crispy squares could help sweeten the deal. There were lots of people and so much food, and they fit in a couple of chairs for us at the table. We were grateful to get to share this new-to-us holiday with great food and friendly neighbors. There were even leftovers to take back to the trailer!
The Russian River
It rained and rained, and finally, the rain took a break. It seemed like a good time to check out the namesake of the campground. The ‘Russian River’ was only a short walk away and surrounded by lingering fall yellows and greens. Wookie went straight for the water and enjoyed chasing rocks we strategically tossed around him. We agreed it would be a blast to be here in the summer and float on a tube down the river.
Parade of Tractors
The end of November is prime time for holiday events and the local newspaper had many listings for the surrounding small towns. Though only one stood out above the rest, a holiday tractor parade. We went back and forth trying to decide if it was worth braving the rain to take in a holiday light parade. In the end, it seemed worth it since we hadn’t done a lot during our stay in the area. The kettle was boiled for some apple ciders and we put on our rain gear.
It was so worth it. The little town of Geyserville really put on a show. There were old tractors, new tractors, small tractors, and tall tractors. Some were towing displays and others were being towed on trailers. They were all decked out in Christmas lights and brought big holiday cheer to a soggy evening. One of our favorites was a tractor towing a display from the 1960s Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer movie.
We waved at the last lighted tractor and returned to the truck. Our hands were frozen and coats soaked through, but the experience had been so fantastically country Christmas.