Collins Lake (3)

Ah, there’s the Collins Lake we figured must happen when it’s closer to summer. Both times we’ve been, it was either cold and rainy, or well into the Fall, when the water levels were low. This time we got a taste of the party zone. For a private campground with 500 sites, plus day use visitors, this is a really well run place. I say that because I did not see any ambulances or fire trucks, despite the high probability levels. At our little loop alone, we saw a half dozen empty beer case boxes, combined with people lighting things on fire besides the wood in the fire rings.

Speaking of injury potential, I learned last week that magnets are dangerous. Like, for real. The way all the warning signs on the packaging said they were. I scoffed it all off and blithely threw it away, but now I know better. You see, I’m working on the idea of making the screen room side flap into a magnet closure type thing. So I went to Amazon and searched all kinds of words around magnets, ending up with an order for “Neodymium” bar magnets (pronounced neo-DIM-ee-um, and I know that because I Googled it after I got injured). They said they were super strong and that seemed like a good idea. When I got them out of their crazily protected packaging, I lined them up on the table, in a long chain, to keep them orderly. I had noticed already that they were quite strong. Then, I started to bend the first one around, to try to get it off the chain.

Here’s the sequence of events my brain perceived: 1) I noticed the magnets were no longer on the table, 2) I heard a huge crack, and 3) realized my finger hurt. That’s how fast it happened. I looked on the floor and saw a clump of magnets, including the shards of several that had cracked and broken in the collision. Now I have a magnet phobia. That surely must be called “magnetophobia” right?

Deciding that these were somewhat overkill for the requirements of the project, I went back online to search for “craft magnets.” Not bothering to check the measurements stated in the product details, two days later I received the smallest magnets in the world. Hmm. I believed my online shopping skills were of a higher quality. Perhaps I should pause and think this through, before ordering more magnets.

But back to Collins Lake. Despite the music and general party atmosphere, we had a very nice time. One thing to note: if you are ever out in a double kayak with your spouse/significant other/camping date, you should know that sound carries very far over water. We hope the couple whose loud, throw down fight we overheard has survived the weekend. Camping with children sounds stressful.

We still recommend the place. But when the lake is full and blue and beautiful, like it was this weekend, it takes on a decidedly different flavor. Speaking of flavors, we can forgive a lot of campground commotion when there’s an ice cream place you can walk to that is open until 11pm. And once again, the Pahaque awning/screen room came out and showed off its ability to drop the privacy flaps when you’re in closer quarters with your neighbors.

Richard got in a fabulous bike ride around the Brownsville loop, along Oregon Hill Road. He says the road is messed up, but it’s a beautiful ride if you like climbing. I enjoyed a long paddle in the sunshine. I’d say summer is coming, but it looks like rain again next weekend. It’s ok. It’ll happen.

Our drive there and back mostly followed Highway 113, and that was a lovely alternative to any of the bigger highways around Sacramento. On the way back, we took 113 to E10 to 505. I’d do that again for sure. That takes you through rolling grassy hills and is a well maintained road. It’s about a 3 1/2 hour drive, but for a waterfront site with hookups and ice cream, Collins Lake makes for a fun weekend!

One last thing to report: the amazingly wonderful parents who decorated my door last year for Teacher Appreciation Day, went and choked me up again by gifting me a whole bag full of trailer themed goodies. To say I’m grateful for these families does not begin to cover it. 🙂

Total miles: forgot to take data. Oops. Something like 134 though. Site: 216. Electric and water hookups. Chemical toilets (porta-potties) in most of the campground, but they were clean and not too bad. Poor to no cell coverage, but boostable. Verizon boosted better than ATT.