Coldbrook campground

December is the busiest time of the year leaving us with limited weekends and opportunities to camp. With Buses By the Bridge approaching quickly, we wanted to test out a dry camping site while using our Mr. Buddy heater during the cool nights. We had already visited Coldbrook campground earlier in the year and decided it would be the perfect test for the night time sleeping arrangements and heater use. Only an hour's drive from home, the campground has a 3,300 ft. elevation as well as a scenic creek running through which feeds the North fork of the San Gabriel river.

Here are some pictures of our set-up including hammock and playpen.

We returned to Coldbrook as it truly is a beautiful area worth a second visit.

Brooke had some success maintaining her napping schedule.

Then we were able to warm up by the fire at night and yes, we're both sporting socks and sandals!

It turned out to be quite chilly at night but the Mr. Buddy heater did a great job of keeping it nice and warm for us all. We lucked out to have a full moon which was beautiful to watch and fall asleep to in the upper bunk. Here's a 30 second exposure shot of the moon and clouds, it was quite spectacular!

 After a good night's sleep, mom had some quality snuggle time with Brooke downstairs.

I wanted to take some video of the scenic drive we encountered so here is a short clip driving up the mountain.



Also a silly clip I made.

This will most likely be the last camping trip of 2014 and we're looking forward to a great 2015!

Rancho Jurupa

There are many reasons why we go camping; whether it be to explore or simply because it's a great means of escape to the outdoors and be close to the one's you love most. This trip however had a bit of a different goal....

We went to our first big VW camping event back in January (Buses By the Bridge) and wanted to make sure we were prepared for the same event in 2015. Not having camped for well over a month, we needed to find a new place for Brooke to sleep safely now that she has outgrown her infant crib we used previously.

Rancho Jurupa Park is more suited to larger RV's but we decided to visit after discovering it was only a one hour drive for a $25 spot by the lake including electricity. Visitors to Rancho Jurupa Park enjoy a semi-rural setting with two 3-acre lakes. Activities include a splash pad for water play, a rock climbing playground, a very nice miniature golf course, and a disc golf course.

Westfalias are known for their "Pop-Top" functionality so here's a short video of it in action when we arrived.

I also wanted to post up a time-lapse video highlighting another part of our camping set-up which is our BusDepot side awning. Now that we are familiar with this awning and all the parts, it goes up easily in less than 10 minutes.



We were glad to have the awning up as it not only protects from the sun but also the rain we encountered.

While it wasn't raining we took advantage of the many features offered in this park.
A little picnic by the lake.

Brooke made some new friends but cried when it was time to say goodbye.

The disc golf course was a lot of fun but I sadly shot 4 over par.

The miniature golf course was well executed and picturesque.

Brooke even tried out a big slide. She looks a bit traumatized but was smiling shortly after.

The rest of our time was mainly spent inside due to the rain but that didn't mean we didn't enjoy it.
Movie time.

Meal time.

Play time.

Oh and to get back to the main reason for our trip. We purchased a child gate that was placed behind the rear seat so Brooke could sleep safely in the back without fear of her climbing out. We ended up sleeping in the top bunk. With that said....bring on Buses By the Bridge in just over a month (hopefully we will get in another trip or two before then).