A Quick Overnight in August

[static]

My VW bus was coming out of the shop, an advanced birthday was happening and I just wanted to get away by myself for an overnight.

The designated companion pouted to come along, even though she was a bit unsure of the whole 'camping' thing as well as any logic in traveling in a rusty, 35-year-old VW camper.

Many people take their holidays in August. School will be back in session shortly, and this is the last couple weeks of camping 'amateur hour' just before the family campers leave, the campgrounds clear out and the Scrub Jays breathe a sigh of relief. First off, however, one must find a site.

I was again reminded of this hard fact: There are no sites to be had.

Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, any campsite within 300 miles of the San Francisco Bay Area fills on Friday at about noon and doesn't empty out until Sunday afternoon.

Campsites along the coast have been reserved since the Carter administration and campsites close-by a bit inland are either filled or just too flocking hot for any camping or relaxing. Even Bluebelly lizards take August off.

Thanks to the internet, one can now check for available campsites online. In August, one can quickly check to see how many campgrounds are completely filled, congested or miserable, with possible the exception of desperate campsites near Needles, Barstow and Stinking Creek, all places that are best avoided in August.

There is a heirarchy of campgrounds: The National Parks (such as Yosemite) are generally filled except when they are flooded or on fire. Even if you could get a site, they have loud children, grumpy bears and vanloads of Christian youth groups in them. National Parks are best avoided.

Forest Service Campgrounds are next. They vary quite a bit in wonderfulness, mosquitos and shade. All the ones within a reasonable driving distance were filled this weekend; infested with raccoons or pimply Christians.

The State Parks are generally wonderful, (despite the fact that they are staffed by pissy Park Rangers who hate old VW busses) but any California State Park campground with surf, shade or scenery has been booked for many months. To make matter worse, the raccoons are actually in charge in many of these campgrounds and many of them are armed.

I was beginning to get worried. I had to show my non-camping companion what the whole VW Camper compulsion was about and I didn't want to subject her to shrieking children, severe sunburns, raccoons or pit toilets on her first campout. (This time. Pit toilets are next. Baby steps...)

We settled upon San Lorenzo Park in King City, which is part of the Monterey County Parks system. Not reservable on the Reserve America system, County Parks are usually unknown. Sometimes they are quite nice. (Usually they are not, but sometimes they are)

This particular one has hot showers, clean toilets, lawns, a koi pond and a free T1 connection. The fee is $20 a night.

We were assigned a level site with plenty of shade, quite near the showers. The sites on either side of us were vacant.

After we pulled into the level site and I sent the companion on a walk with the dog while I set up camp. I made sure that the table was set, the tablecloth was just right and that the kerosene lamps were filled.

I charcoal-grilled burgers and steamed corn on the cob for dinner.

That night I made the perfect campfire (thanks to a dry box of Hot Wood brand firewood and an Army surplus fire starter tablet). We looked at the stars and drank red wine.

In the morning, I fixed scrambled eggs with home fries and some decent coffee with half & half for breakfast. We watched coveys of California quail scamper by our site. Life was good.

The bus ran (more or less) trouble free. We returned along the coast, taking time to wander the beach in Moss Landing and later stopping off in Santa Cruz for lunch.

She has asked when our second campout is.


(I wrote this a year or so ago. Since then, the dog died of old age and I dumped that girlfriend for suggesting that I get a Vanagon. My '71 Westy still runs well)

[DjEep]

(I dumped that girlfriend for suggesting that I get a Vanagon. My '71 Westy still runs well)

But, yes, I feel your pain regarding camping around NorCal. If she was still around I'd say try to get a few more outings with her and toughen her up for some winter camping. Big Basin is overcrowded crap in the summer and just marvelous in the pouring rain and sleet.

[dingo]

I dumped that girlfriend for suggesting that I get a Vanagon.

haha ! that one made me laugh out loud !...

hey dont forget the BLM...they may be further afield, but there are some great BLM campsites out there, some are still free. the ones off 395 are $5 which is pretty damn close to 'free'

[RussellK]

What about the Army Corp of Engineers. Around here they have camping areas and they're not too bad.

[static]

Yes, there are the Army Corps of Engineers and the BLM campsites. I have been at many of both.

Most of those are well beyond the "easy to get to on a typical weekend" forcefield that keeps me closer to home.

[RussellK]

It seems like camping has gotten really popular. Maybe because the gear has come down in price and is readily available at outlets like Wally World and Target. We became frustrated about 5 or 6 years ago when our favorite places started filling every weekend. Our alternative was to take up backpacking to get that camping jones fix. Of course if you have a non camping companion it might be hard convincing her to schlepp 35 pounds of gear for 10 miles and to relieve herself behind the old redwood.

[Adventurewagen]

There is a heirarchy of campgrounds: The National Parks (such as Yosemite) are generally filled except when they are flooded or on fire. Even if you could get a site, they have loud children, grumpy bears and vanloads of Christian youth groups in them. National Parks are best avoided.

Don't forget the 30ft RV's with Big Screen HD Satellite TV's blasting away at 11 at night or the 40ft wide tents they also setup along with the Nazi tourists on a power trip with their 10 wheely bags running around the Valley pissed that the accomadations aren't as nice as the Marriott they are used to staying in when resort vacationing.

I just got back from two weeks in the Valley (even though 7days is the limit) but really dirt bagged it. If you keep to yourself and avoid eye contact with the Rangers, bivy at the backpackers campground and spend enough sessions "sitting in the meadow" you end up feeling chill enough to deal with the city like speed going on around you. Although it is a beautiful place to be. Lots of chill locations by the rivers out of site of anyone else. I can't say how many naps I had laying next to the river after getting off some climb without so much as the hint of an RV or religious mob bombing around wondering where the movie theatre was.

So do you have a new girlfriend who is aware of the fact that getting a Vanagon is NOT an option :)

[hambone]

Campgrounds suck. I go occasionally when you can't aviod em' like on the coast, but you never get that "wild" feeling, always a car driving by, a kid screaming, or SOMETHING to disturb the peace. Always.
Getcha self acquainted with the National Forests in your area. If you don't already have em', each ranger district has their own map which shows every back road. I like to find a back road that goes into the ass-end of a designated wilderness (or an undesignated 'roadless area', but you usually need to do some reasearch, or check terraserver aerial photos for big uncut areas). Most times, you won't see a soul, and the good spots always have a fire ring all ready to go.
The downside: you haveta poop in the woods, and you won't get a shower/T1. The upside: you really get in touch with your own peace and that of the place you're visiting.

[tristessa]

The most important thing I haven't seen addressed in this thread: Did the now-ex GF suggest getting a Vanagon *in place of* the '71 Westy, or *in addition* to the '71 Westy? There's a world of difference between the two.

Suggesting that you get a Vanagon "in place of" is horribly wrong, and you were correct in dumping her even with no other factors being involved. Suggesting that you get a Vanagon "in addition to" would make her a keeper (it *IS* a Volkswagen, after all), providing that she wasn't some form of Psycho Hose Beast.

[Adventurewagen]

Suggesting that you get a Vanagon "in addition to" would make her a keeper (it *IS* a Volkswagen, after all), providing that she wasn't some form of Psycho Hose Beast.

So I guess you are the ACVW guy that still waves at Vanagons, huh

Ugly pieces of crud. I know some people here have them and I guess if I could find a really nice low mileage Syncro or one of the diesels I might get it but then again why keep my 71 if I got a newer one. I just don't see them as VW's anymore, its like saying the new bugs and passats and rabbits and all those other plastic junkards are VW's too.

I say find a girlfriend who will poop in the woods and ride in an ACVW, maybe even fix some stuff too like the chick in the picture.

[hambone]

My wife drives a '85 Vanagon. I gotta say, it's built like a tank. As sturdy if not MORE sturdy than my '69 I shat you knot. I'm not nuts about the lousy 16 mpg or so, nor do I care for expensive parts and complex maintenance. It's a good van for haulin around large groups, but not as a daily driver. Although there are a LOT of em' here in Portland...

[Adventurewagen]

My wife drives a '85 Vanagon. I gotta say, it's built like a tank. As sturdy if not MORE sturdy than my '69 I shat you knot. I'm not nuts about the lousy 16 mpg or so, nor do I care for expensive parts and complex maintenance. It's a good van for haulin around large groups, but not as a daily driver. Although there are a LOT of em' here in Portland...

The question is... Do you wave at your wife if you pass her in your bus while driving? And if you do is it a mercy wave like "I don't wanna sleep on the sofa wave" or is it a "Look its another VW wave"

[hambone]

Now that is the funny thing. Here in Oregon, the whole "bus wave" is very alive and well, I'm even SURPRISED when I don't get the wave! However, I never give/receive the "wave" from a Vanagon driver. There just isn't the same comradiere (sp?). Probably because most of em' have a shop do the work, and that labor of love is missing. We took ours to the shop for repairs too, because I don't wanna TOUCH a wasserboxer water pump replacement etc etc.

[static]

Getcha self acquainted with the National Forests in your area.

Oh, I am. But: this was a quick overnight, not a run up to the Sierra or down to Los Padres Natl Forest.

I have no problem with pooping in the woods. I figure that, if it is good enough for the Pope, it is good enough for me.

[hambone]

Glad ta hear, Static. I'm not tryin ta be all preachy but some folks just don't know that they can camp anywhere - it's public land.
Ya know, some of my best poops have been in the woods, it just feels like th' pipes are lined up right. It's not much fun in the summer, when you have to outwit the flies.