October 30-31, 2012
Here are our impressions of our new home. It’s got great views of the Sierra Nevada
Mountains. Unfortunately, we’re in a
spot where there was a fire some years ago, so it’s not as tree laden as we’d
like. I hate to be picky about a free
spot, but I can’t help but complain about the trash. It’s everywhere! Food trash, dirty diapers, toilet
paper. It’s really hard to comprehend
how terribly people have treated this campground. Why doesn’t a boy scout troop take care of this? I’m guessing that this spot gets great use
by the rafting companies during the summer.
Why aren’t rafting companies monitoring trash pickup? Missy and I are going to see about maybe doing
some trash pickup while we’re here. But
even if we filled 3 giant contractor bags, we probably wouldn’t get more than a
20 foot radius from the RV clean. Sigh.
Sunrise is around 8:30 (defined as when we see the sun peak
out from the mountains). Sunset is at
5:00. So far we’ve had full moons, so
you can walk around at night and see everything clearly. Since we’ve been here, there have been no
clouds. Daytime temps get into
80s. In the shade, it’s comfy with the
breeze. But in the full sun, it’s
unbearable. I’m disappointed. I don’t see how we can do hikes or ride
bikes in these conditions. Maybe when
we explore a little more up the mountain, we’ll find better forest trails (i.e.
shaded).
Several times during the day we get fly-bys of military
jets. They are quite impressive
specimens. Some go by high, and that alone
gives off a great loud noise. But once
or twice, they fly by really low, like maybe only 50 yards overhead. That is deafening and alarming to both man
and beast. (Deaf Buddy hears that
one). The pilots do this Top Gun
maneuver by tipping their planes sideways and following the curve of the mountain
sides. At first I assumed that we must
be at war….but now I’m guessing that they are using the mountains here as
training tools. Next time we’re in
range we might have to call Dad and see what he thinks.
So far, I’ve got to say we’re enjoying this campsite. It’s not what I was expecting back when we
were planning in MN. But, I can’t
complain (too much) about free mountain camping! Coming up in the next few days, we’re going
to head up the mountain to check out possible other spots closer to the
forest. And we’re going to scootie to
the Grove of One Hundred Giants. This,
according to the nice ranger, is the closest grove of Sequoias to us. I’m anxious to see them…this is what I was
excited for when I picked this National Forest. I suppose it was naïve of me to assume that
the whole forest from boundary to boundary was covered in giant Sequoias.
Oh…we had a nature encounter this morning! A beaver was swimming around in our section
of the river. We’re right by a giant
eddy, and it went over and swam around a bit.
It wasn’t shy at all. I wondered
if it had a home nearby, because why else would it swim within 15 feet of shore
where 2 dogs are barking at it? Missy
said it must be rabid. Either way, it
was great to be able to watch it for 20-30 minutes.
Missy got bit by a fire ant after she foolishly set up her lounger
on their home. She twas a bit of a baby
about the whole thing. :-)
Halloween: We left
camp early with the dogs to check out a trailhead listing a hike to a
waterfall. We were hoping it was nice
and easy, for Buddy. The going’s rough
for him on the riverside trails at home because of all the big river
rocks. We never did find the waterfall,
but we enjoyed our walk up the surprisingly well maintained forest road. When we got back to the truck, it was such a
nice day that we agreed to keep driving and see if we could find the Trail of
100 Giants. It turned out to be about
20 miles/45 minutes away. We were the
ONLY people on the road and at the trail.
(Full disclosure: one other couple did show up while we were walking the
trail). Man, off-season touring is the way to go! The giant sequoias are mind boggling. There’s a paved trail winding its way
through the forest. Cassie had a blast
hunting the squirrels. And Buddy
enjoyed a barrier free forest hike!
After leaving the grove, we pulled off to check out a possible new
boondocking site. (Oh, first we drove
through the pay/$18 campground adjacent to 100 giants….it was tiiiiiiiny. Our truck alone barely made the curves on
the loop). It caught our attention
immediately. Gorgeous pine trees with
cleared understory. And plenty of
sunlight streaming in. We carefully
checked it out, and we think we can get the RV in. I just hope it’s an acceptable camping
spot. There are no signs saying “no
camping”, and it fits the rules for dispersed camping in the national
forest. Let’s just hope no rangers
roust us… The plan is to go into town
tomorrow (Thursday) and see if the library has internet. Then we’ll get last groceries and head up
the mountain first thing Friday morning.
We’ll stay as long as our tanks allow us…hopefully at least 2
weeks. So it might be awhile before I
get to post again. Wish us luck with
the weather!
Garbage campground sounds sad.
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