Thanksgiving 2016 Lake of the Springs

What a wonderful time! This has to rank up there with one of the best Thanksgiving week vacations I've ever had.  This was my second time up to Lake of the Springs, a Thousand Trails resort in Oregon House, CA and the first time in the fall/winter.  

I was not only lucky enough to get a sewer site but there were no campers for three sites on either side of me.  Although it did rain on and off throughout, the peacefulness and amenities more than made up for the weather.

Some new things we did included:

• Walking up to the top of the highest point (campground H) and discovering that we could use our phone up there.  The camp area was completely empty and  it was fun walking around.
•  Discovering a trail that went all the way down past the dam to the river at the bottom of the canyon.  I couldn't let the dogs swim in November in the rain but if we walk down here in the summer-time, Poppy will love the swimming opportunities
• I didn't know there were so many deer in this area.  They all came out in November. And they weren't scared of the dogs.

Veteran's Weekend -- Sycamore Grove

I thought I would try this Forest Service campground because I have been camping at Thousand Trails a lot and the members of the Camping with Dogs Meetup expressed that they would like more variety.  However, after booking this, no one else signed up.  I decided to check it out anyway and we had a great time.

Although this is part of the Mendocino National Forest, it isn't actually connected to the main forest.  It's on the eastern side of Highway 5 along the Sacramento River just south of Red Bluff, CA.  This is a large recreational area that sees a lot of day usage also although some of the education facilities are no longer funded which is sad.  There's a boat ramp, miles of hiking trails, a botanical garden, a nature museum, a group camp area, a fish ladder viewing area for salmon, and of course, the camping area.  After chatting with some volunteers, I was told that the group camping area isn't used much any more since schools stopped doing field trips and the fish ladder viewing area was no longer in use.

After checking in and driving around, I realized that the spot I reserved was not what I had envisioned.  We drove around some more and picked another spot clear on the other side that was perfect.  It wasn't very crowded, but being a public campground, there were some people I wouldn't normally see. There were a group of teens that stayed up talking loudly way past 11:00.  And there was a homeless couple that chatted with me a bit, they had been evicted and needed someplace temporary.

I was able to get power and water for $25 a night but no sewer dump.  Luckily, there is a large Pilot Flying J truck stop just about 30 miles down the highway on the way home. 

We enjoyed our nature walks and visiting the gardens and the river.  All in all, a pleasant experience.

August through October

These are the spots I've camped since the last blog.  I will add pictures and details as time allows but I seem to have a lot more time for camping than for blogging.

August 19-21:  Ponderosa Resort, Lotus, CA

September 2-5:  Lake Minden, Nicolaus, CA

September 30-Oct. 1:  Snowflower Resort, Emigrant Gap, CA

October 27-29:  Lake Minden, Nicolaus, CA

Memorable moments:

Labor Day Weekend -- Took the three dogs out on a paddle boat on to Lake Minden.  Fell in the water between the boat and the dock while trying to climb out.  The dogs seemed to really enjoy the adventure. 

Snowflower Resort -- First time this far into the Sierras with the motorhome.  Met up with one member of the Meetup group, Camping with Dogs.  This was the first weekend of hunting season so there was a mixture of recreational campers and hunters with their all terrain vehicles, etc.  We left one day early due to snow and freezing weather forecasts.  I'm not sure how well my motorhome would handle freezing weather overnight.  I will have to look into that.

Lake Minden:  First evening there, Poppy and I had a crash.  I should have gone in for stitches but decided not to.  Went home on Sunday morning, accident was on Thursday evening.  Found out a week later that I had a concussion.  Interesting times.

July 18-19-20, Lawson's Landing

I've been to Lawson's Landing many times.  The first time was about 2010, when I took my two dogs and had a meet up with the Aussie activity group.  I've been with a tent, with a truck camper shell, and with my motor home.  I think motor home is best based on their weather but there are always a lot of tent campers and they don't seem to mind.

Lawson's Landing is family owned and on the Tamales Bay.  It is a very short walking distance to Dillon Beach, which is an awesome off leash dog beach.  There are two places you can camp at Lawson's -- the seawall or the meadow.  I've camped at both places but have been leaning toward the meadow lately.  The seawall is awesome if there aren't a lot of oyster fishermen but otherwise, recreational campers don't really fit in.

I've heard that Lawson's is a party place and can get noisy but they do have quiet time after 9:00 p.m. and when I've been, people have respected that.  I try to go during the week when I can.  If you are a longtime Lawson's Landing person, you will notice a huge change this year.  2016 was the 5 year deadline for monthly trailers being moved out.  The coastal commission said that the family could no longer have long term residents due to environmental issues in this fragile environment so you will see a lot of vacant lots as you walk around.

There's plenty to do, whether you want to relax, take long walks on paved roads through the dunes, hike across the dunes to the beach (strenuous), go fishing, walk into the town of Dillon Beach, fly kites, bird watch, or just enjoy the ambiance.  I like the little store that is down by the pier and boat shop and always buy a bag of saltwater taffy -- kind of a tradition.  They are very dog friendly and well-behaved dogs can be off leash everywhere, including in the store and on the beach.

There are no hookups and many of the former restroom buildings are closed, but if you have a self-contained RV, it's still perfect.  There are new walk-to camping spots but they seem really close together to me so a less crowded time of the week is probably better for those.