Back in May, we camped at Camp Edison, Shaver Lake, and noted that it was too long a drive to do for just a weekend. So I booked a “do over” trip and scored the same sweet site we had before. But this time, I put on my calendar that I would take Friday off. I’m not very good about taking days off during the school year, but I figured with a five month lead time, I could plan around it. So, of course, things beyond my control got planned, Friday off was not going to work, and we were seriously considering eating the reservation fee and not going. But then we discovered that the site was available Sunday night and I could take off Monday without too much pain. Regroup! Game on!!
Getting there is still a pretty big trip. We left as early as possible Friday and hit major traffic. It ended up being a six hour drive and we didn’t pull up to the kiosk until 9pm. Happily, they don’t shut the gate on new arrivals until 10 and we got to use our LED night hitching lights. Dinner was wraps on the road. After darkness had set in and we began heading into the foothills, we noticed something weird and huge and orange coming up over the horizon. Richard was pretty sure it could not possibly be the moon (and yes, he did follow that with: “It’s a space station!”). It was, however, definitely the moon. We tried (LOTS) to get a picture of it, but they all turned out so blurry, you can’t even tell what they were supposed to be. Anyway, it was cool. You’ll just have to trust me.
Despite the long drive, we knew we’d have full days Saturday and Sunday and that was excellent. One of the first things we did was reposition in the site. The Caravan Mover made easy work of that and we got enough level space in front of the door that the awning became useful. This is not to say the decision of whether to put it up was not a struggle. With a view like that, it’s a tough call. Shade and yoga room and blue lights won.
The rest of the day Saturday was spent with biking and boating. Our site is nicely close to the water, though the approach is rather steep and slippery. I made it down, but opted to use the beach when it was time to bring the kayak back in. Dinner Saturday was take out pizza from Shaver Lake Pizza and that was perfection. Then I got to live my dream and go for a sunset paddle. It was blissful, although I appear to have missed the sunset. Afterglow was pretty awesome anyway.
Sunday we were pretty lazy. I played with some new school things and then we walked up to the Museum. We recommend a trip there for sure. There are all kinds of artifacts from the old logging days and we were treated to a private tour of the replica hydroelectric building. Plus, we went inside an old caboose and got to check out a very well restored Mack truck. All very fun. We’d like to time any return trips to coincide with when they do live demonstrations of the hydroelectric machinery in action. 
We also learned a lot about the huge tree die off and that it was largely caused by a stressed ecosystem that was vulnerable to a massive beetle attack. With all the fires raging in California, it is worrisome to see so many standing dead trees on the surrounding ridges. The campground appears to have done a very thorough job removing theirs and has turned many of the remaining stumps into happy campbears.
Sunday evening I got my sunset on the water. I also got a close encounter with ducks and a dragonfly. Did you know dragonflies have teeth? Go ahead, Google it. I dare you. I had recently made that mistake, and fully admit to being alarmed when it landed on me. I came out of the incident unscathed and brought back ten thousand pictures of the sun setting over the lake.
Monday was a vacation day, but we knew we’d be using it for travel. Again, it was a long haul. We didn’t hit much traffic going home, but still clocked about 4 1/2 hours. Now my note to self is to stay at this place for a week next time. They have electric hookups at all of the sites, I think. There is plenty of solar to keep the coffee battery charged. There are water spigots conveniently placed throughout the campground, and they even have a “honey wagon” service, so our waste tanks would not be an issue. Go ahead, if you didn’t Google dragonfly teeth, I dare you to look up honey wagons.
This place remains one of my all time favorite places. I just wish it weren’t so far!
Total miles: 200.4, 16.2 mpg, 5 hours 55 min with traffic. Site 120. Best sites for lake views: 120, 119, 124, 125. Sites 118 and the double sites 107 & 108 would be great for water access. This is a huge campground, with 252 sites. Many have full hookups. Nicely maintained, friendly staff.
Nice find! We’re running out of places nearby to check out, but this one was well worth the 4 hour drive. At an elevation of only around three thousand feet, it should be a reasonable destination, even in colder months. Yet, it has all the benefits of a high mountain lake. Our site was chosen late in the game, only a couple of weeks prior, and there weren’t many choices left. So we were on an exposed corner of a loop near the day use area. So there was a fair bit of car and foot traffic. The nice thing about Dory is that you can make any site private. We did check out some of the other sites and I noted nice ones for future visits.
The lake was walking distance, even with a 36 lb. kayak on my back, so I had my Saturday all planned out. Friday we got there just in time for a nice sunset and quick dinner. In the morning, Richard headed out on his bike and I just paddled for hours. There were a few speed boats on the water, enough to make fun waves, but not so many as to be annoying. The weather was perfect. Richard texted me in the afternoon saying the town of Nevada City was fun and that he’d gotten dinner reservations for a nice place in town.
Some time around 3, I pulled Squirt out of the water and Richard helped me carry it up to dry off at the site. That is definitely a bonus over having to pack it back up and put it in the car when still slightly wet. It was a short drive from the campground to Nevada City and the town is super cute. It’s got the feel of an old town, with lots of historically preserved gold rush buildings. But it also has some pretty upscale restaurants. Our dinner at 
Sunday we didn’t get packed up and rolling until around noon. We stopped along the way at an Outdoor World, which turned out to be just as exciting as the Cabela’s we’d seen in Idaho. I admit to being tempted by the red and green holiday children’s rifles, but couldn’t even buy them as joke. Instead, we picked up a few little odds and ends before agreeing that we were in sensory overload. We pulled up to our driveway around 5.
This was our first foray to an Army Corps of Engineers campground. We’re giving it a thumbs up, though there are some things you’d need to be prepared for if you go. This particular campground is located by Lake Sonoma and there are only two places around the lake where you can take a trailer. The other is privately run and is located above the marina. This place does not have any running water, therefore, the large and seemingly nice bathroom facilities are all closed. Instead, there are port-a-potties placed at the bathroom sites. Obviously, there are no electric hookups either, so some caution would be needed in case the weather is hot (no AC). However, if you’re fine with those things, we found the B loop of the campground to have several nice sites and a couple of them overlook the lake.
For us, this is about a 2.5-3 hour drive, depending on traffic. We got out Friday afternoon and pulled up to the kiosk around 6. You can only book sites based on “single” or “double” designation, and you take what is available when you get there. Not knowing any better, I booked a single. When we drove around looking at the sites though, I noted that the singles were pretty narrow and certainly would not have accommodated the awning. Happily, it was not a crowded weekend and they let us change to a double. In fact, I don’t even think we got charged for that. Dory could have fit into a single, but I liked the view in site 76 anyway. Sites 78 and 80 have great views of the lake, but they were taken.
Saturday we just spent doing reconnaissance of the area. For bike rides, it would be pretty daunting to get out of the campground, as the road out is very steep. For boating info, we headed to the Visitor Center to inquire. That turned out to be worth a trip in and of itself! Part of the operations handled by the Army Corps includes running a fish hatchery. Wow. I swear, I never knew how fish hatcheries worked. They had an impressive display inside with movies showing every step of the process, including fertilization. It was kind of like a whole sex education class right there. I’m not sure how conspicuous I looked to the kids running around the place, with my jaw hanging open, thinking, “Wait. They do WHAT to the fish??” Well, there you go.
The volunteer there gave us some good info on kayaking, plus some recommendations for lunch. We drove into the nearby town of Cloverdale and Richard checked out the coffee place (which was rated a 4.8, so he was optimistic). 
We then drove out to a place called Yorty Creek to check out the kayak launch. While I would never want to bring Dory down that road, and while Richard would find biking it to be fairly deathy, it is doable in a car. The payoff is finding yourself in a part of the lake where there are few or no motor boats, and a nice launch site for small boats. 
Last exploration of the day took us to the Marina, where there is a privately run campground up above the lake. I wasn’t too impressed with the campground, and I’d still need to drive down to the water to launch, so I think, all things considered, Liberty Glen, B loop, site 76, is right where I’d go for a return trip. There is no service in the campground, and no reliable service until you get near 101, so we’d need to really plan if we wanted to split up with biking and kayaking on the agenda.
Saturday afternoon was nappy time, followed by Blue Apron Ancho Chile Tacos with Blistered Shishito Peppers and Cabbage Slaw. Oh yes. The stars are fantastic out there and we even caught sight of a bonafide meteor, burning up in the atmosphere. I’m not sure if that adds to, or subtracts from, the bad juju in the area, but I’m pretty sure aliens landed somewhere out there. Just be careful is what I’m saying.
For being so close to Sacramento, Folsom Lake is a surprisingly pleasant destination. Last time we came, I had a head cold and just stayed in Dory being sniffly. We were also in the depths of the drought and there was no lake to be seen. This time around, I got to go for a nice dip while Richard clocked 50+ miles on his bike.
Saturday I got “Squirt” out on the lake and just leisurely paddled around for a couple of hours before getting to work. The site we got was, I think, the nicest in the campground. There was plenty of room between us and anyone else. You have to be kind of careful in this park because if you don’t get one of the three or four sites closer to the water, you’re going to be looking at a road full of cars. You also can’t see the lake from any site because there is a huge berm between you and the water. It is close to the bike trail that runs along the American River, all the way to Sacramento, and (when there is water) the day use area is nice for boating and swimming. The bathrooms are nicely done and very clean, and our site was perfectly level with full hookups. This meant we got to live it up with showering and run the AC even though it wasn’t all that hot. The sewer connection was at the perfect location and low down so we got full dumps. It’s those little things that make all the difference.
I sleep very soundly in Dory. Lately, our adopted cat has taken to sleeping adorably curled up on my legs at home. Thing is, I’m 50+ and periodically become a super efficient heat generator at night, so this makes for awkward sleeping. I’ve tried moving her or taking up my half of the bed before she comes in the room, but then she does her kneading and purring thing and puts her tiny fuzzy cheek on mine and I just surrender and make room for wherever she wants to be. And then don’t sleep. So weekends out are now an important part of catching up. Besides the fact that I think she’d hate it, that makes for one more reason not to take her out with us. She does like napping in Dory in the garage though, so we have to be careful not to make her an accidental camping cat.
This was a glorious, lazy, uneventful weekend. Did not boat or hike or do much of anything really. Richard went on a bike ride, I got caught up on backlogged things. Slept in. All good.
But as for the weekend, nothing too exciting to report. This is an easy, pleasant, and super close location for weekends out. We need to try out the non hookup sites some time when it’s not hot.
What do you do for Labor Day Weekend when Bay Area temperatures are set to hit record highs and into triple digits? (hint: your answer will likely match that of 12 million other Bay Area residents) That’s right! You go to the coast! Or pick a whole lot of movies you wouldn’t mind seeing multiple times. In our case, we lucked out because I made these reservations a while ago and I don’t think it would have occurred to me to get a site with electric hookups on the coast. That was a happy coincidence, as AC was definitely needed. Temperatures hit the 90s even right by the ocean and I can’t recall a time I’ve ever seen that happen.
This campground is very tightly spaced. It’s definitely a party and/or family destination. But for these situations, it is extremely helpful to have the Caravan Mover and the awning. This allows me to turn Dory so that I can have at least one view that is not too exposed. Then I can lower the side flaps on the awning and maintain the illusion of privacy. We didn’t really care too much anyway and our neighbors were nice and friendly. Mostly all we cared about was having the AC running continuously. I continue to enjoy the screen enhanced awning and took even more pictures to prove it. Saturday night we enjoyed a Ribeye steak with salad and a half baked roll finished off on the grill. Oh yeah, plus two margaritas. Happy camper was I.
Sunday Richard went out riding and I got to write my first report of the school year. But first, I had to run back to the KOA campground store and buy 3 boxes of 
In the afternoon, we took a walk to the beach. It was cooler there, especially with our feet in the ocean. There was kind of a Hitchcock-ian bird migration happening over the ocean, enough to make us Google it. It turns out we were witnessing a bonafide phenomenon in the form of 
Monday we gave a tour to some Airstream owners who talked about the Alto longingly, saying they would have gotten that in a heartbeat but for the lack of US dealers. Heading home we hit predictable traffic, coupled with a bad accident on 92 that had us stopped for a while. We were’t in any hurry to get home, but made it back around 4 anyway. Perfect weekend and we’re ready to move into a (hopefully) cooler Fall.
It’s a good thing we have a very small trailer. We’d never been to Portola Redwoods before, but I was somewhat familiar with some of the roads, having grown up around there. For example, I remember La Honda being rather windy and hilly. That turned out to be a gross understatement, but then, it’s not like I ever towed trailers around those roads when I was a kid.
I was in a major brain fog by Friday afternoon, as teachers are now back in full swing. Kids come Monday. I hadn’t really looked at the route or anything, so I was just following the Acura navigation. Richard, despite previous vows, was still looking at Google Maps. At one point, when I was about to make the turn off up into the hills, he sort of strongly suggested we take “a more direct way.” Not his fault really, I should know better by now. But I listened and turned up Old La Honda Road and immediately regretted it. This road is so narrow, it barely counts as a single lane. And it has nonstop blind corners, and drop-offs, and no guard rails of any kind. No chance of either turning around or backing up once committed. Thankfully, we did not have to go too far before we came to a residential loop that provided a turn around. Sort of. Well, we made it anyway. You can bet we got some looks from cars and bikers alike wondering what the hell we were thinking trying to take a trailer up that.
We backtracked, slowly, and returned to the also narrow and windy road that took us to (not Old) La Honda and from there it was maybe ten miles before we got to Skyline, and then Alpine Road. Alpine down to the campground was mostly single lane, blind corners, and drop-offs. BUT, at least it was nicely paved, and it was an honest single lane, sometimes even sort of two lanes.
I’m going to go all fan girl about the awning now. Ever since before we even got Dory, I have envisioned a screened in area attached to the trailer, but no one made exactly what I wanted. I have spent hours pondering separate screen rooms, only to convince myself I’d never put one up. I’ve come back to this idea repeatedly and Pahaque delivered. I’m super happy. What they did was hard sew a front screen wall across the front opening. They already sell a screen wall, but it’s elastic toggle attached and there are openings along the top for bugs to get in. The sewn in seam works perfectly. Then they added screen mesh panels to the sides. I think, with a couple of strategically placed suction cup hooks, I can seal up that sucker pretty good. Even so, with the side flaps hanging loosely, there were maybe two flies that got in all weekend. And there were definitely mosquitos there. I thoroughly enjoyed napping in my zero gravity chair, feeling protected and mosquito free. I also got to do my evening yoga stretches outside while Richard was taking a shower, thus improving nighttime routine efficiency significantly. If I could sew, I would have made this exact thing for myself. Instead, people good at making things made the absolute perfect solution to spending outside Dory time with fewer bugs. If I wanted to go nuts with it, I could work on a screened skirt to go across the bottom, but really, we were virtually bug free without it.
Saturday we actually got my pretty blue bike off Dory (it’s been a while) and we took a trail along an old railway line. But first, you have to go up a pretty steep up and down paved trail. We walked our bikes on the steepest sections. It wasn’t very long, so it was ok. Once on the Old Haul Road trail, it was much flatter, but unpaved. We came across many a sign telling us the trail was closed and dangerous. Did we listen? Well, we worried, but continued on because other people had told us it was ok. There were a couple places I wouldn’t have tried if it had recently rained because it looked like the whole road was falling away. For those sections a bit of walking and one spot of scrambling was required, but we felt like it was all something we could handle. Eventually, we’d gone plenty far, had lunch, and turned back. We figure it was about 12 miles all told and that was a pretty good day. Back at the Visitor Center, we enjoyed M&Ms and a fudgicle. Yum. Then nappy time, then dinner. Then bug free yoga stretches, then deep sleep.
