1981 VW Camper: Lake Piru x3

The term "supermoon" is used to describe a full moon at its perigee — the point in the moon's orbit when it is closest to Earth, causing it to appear up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter in the sky. November's full moon is also called the Beaver Moon because it arrives at the time of year (in the Northern Hemisphere) when hunters would set traps before the waters froze over, to ensure they had enough warm furs for the winter. November 14th marks the closest and largest the moon has been in over 68 years and that meant we had to witness it in person with some camping.

Although I brought my camera, I forgot to charge the batteries and unfortunately had to rely on the iPhone which didn't do it proper justice.

Our previous visits to Lake Piru have been brimming with wildlife and this trip was no exception. After a cool night's sleep while listening to coyote packs howling, we awoke to witness several deer.

We were told they enjoyed the olives that had fallen from the surrounding trees. My wife found out that raw olives are extremely bitter.

One of the many benefits of owning our VW is that it is small enough to share a campsite and were fortunate that our friends were able to join us. This white Westfalia is one of the cleanest examples I have ever seen and looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor. Of course Brooke was super happy and wanted to help with the set-up when her new friends arrived.

This camping excursion was a pleasantly mellow experience with good snacks, food, and conversation.

Our evening consisted of burgers, bean salad, homebrew, and marshmallows toasted over the campfire followed by a little movie time. The pristine white paint made for an excellent screen.

With three of us in our camper, I generally sleep in the upper bunk and admittedly usually enjoy about thirty of my forty winks. I must have arranged the pillows properly this night as I ended up sleeping quite well. The howling coyotes didn't seem to bother me too much during the night and we again woke to yet more foraging deer.

As with anything new Brooke was fascinated with our neighbour's super clean van and it was a challenge to limit her exploration of every nook and cranny.