Crystal Lake

It feels like we are missing out on life when we don't go exploring and with a three week break in our camping excursions we had to head out during our 2 days off. We originally planned on doing a short trip to Coldbrook Campground but found out on our drive up that it was closed for the next 2 weeks. This wasn't too big an issue because Crystal Lake campground was only another 8 miles up the road. Although that 8 miles is at a considerably higher elevation and most of was in 2nd gear at around 25 miles per hour.

At over 5,600' it is one of the higher altitude campsites we have visited and also one of the most beautiful.

Here is a shot with our side awning and portable solar all ready to go.

For all those interested in solar fun times, here is my new MPPT charge controller. The number in the upper left shows it pulling in 8amps from the 2 panels. It was peaking at 10 but the sun went behind a bit of cloud by the time I took this picture. Very happy with the 180Watts combined power for all the electrical needs.

The scenery was beautiful, the mountains impressive, and the trees were majestic.

In the late 1800's a Pasadenan visited the pristine little lake and said "The water is clear as crystal and the visitors found it good to drink". The lake soon became known as Crystal Lake. At about a mile away from the campground, we were on our way.

I found an old picture of the Lake from the 60's to compare with the one we took. It looks like it was quite a destination back then with a waterfront store and boat rental service.

Back at our campsite, it was time for my awesome wife to do one of her favorite things. Swinging in the hammock under the trees.

Followed by some coloring time with Brooke

With our day complete it was time to say goodnight and be thankful we could experience yet another great camping experience.

Blackstar Campout 2015

Living in California affords us the opportunity to attend some very large VW events and we were lucky to be able go to the 5 day Blackstar Campout. The crowd caters more to the older VW Bus and Beetle community but we were still welcomed in our "newer" Vanagon.

Preparing for a 5 day camping event is quite an ordeal in itself. We had to figure out the proper amount of food, drinks, clothing, bedding, toys, and this time we even brought our bicycles.

Here is a shot of our propane fridge filled, which if done properly, is an art form in itself.

Although we have added an electric compressor fridge, I am still a big fan of our 30+ year old Dometic running off propane. I hear others complain about the cooling power but here is a shot of ours nice and frosty after a few days use in 90 degree heat. On a side note, the last time we filled the 3 gallon propane tank was over 6 months ago which included several other camping trips and plenty of cooking so it's inexpensive to run as well.

We arrived early after a short drive and had our choice of spots so decided the shade from our nearby tree would do well.

This trip we purchased a new bike trailer for Brooke to ride in but found that she didn't enjoy being in it by herself. The good news is that she loved riding in it with mom (although we exceeded the 80lb limit), the bad news is that I had to do all the pedaling.

With our newfound mobility it was time to explore this amazing park. First we checked out the other VW's.

An extremely rare Hebmuller - I have only seen pictures previously so it was nice to see one in person.

Followed by some recharge time.

With all that energy, it was time to play.

 Brooke met some new friends as always.

 

Despite all the excitement and heat, Brooke was still able to get some quality nap time in.

Having attended this show last year we were aware that the park was infested with ants. Probably not the best option for the environment but we were able to hold off the invasion with some Comet around the tires along with a little bug spray. You can also see the "Slow Moving Vehicle" early Fathers Day present attached to the back.

 

The great part of this campout is the El Prado show that happens on the final day right by the campground. We saw some of the finest VW's around.

The VW community lives strong in California and we consider ourselves lucky to be able to partake in the activities and sights offered. Our final shot before leaving overlooking the lake and show in the background.

 







Chilao campground

Today's post is a happy and breakthrough one for many reasons. First and foremost....I survived a 5000'+ elevation with no negative higher altitude issues which is great news for potential future camping. The second reason is we were able to test our new 100Watt portable solar panel and third was the immense amount of wildlife and beautiful views we witnessed!

Only a one hour (Vanagon speed) drive from Pasadena, this is the site that we came upon to enjoy our weekend.

The air was clean and crisp and our site had amazing views.

First off I need to discuss our new solar set-up. I noticed that the 80Watt panel we have in the luggage rack was barely able to keep up with the CF-25 cooler along with other charging needs and would limit our battery use over long periods so decided to get a portable 100W panel to add to our energy production. Hooking into the existing wiring was quite easy after purchasing some Y-connectors which now give 180Watts of power.

A little messy with the wiring but I will clean it up. This is the new Y-Connector that allows me to run my new 100Watt portable solar panel (or both 180Watt) with a simple snap of the MC4 connectors. I was more than satisfied with the power output when I had everything hooked up and still made more power than I could use.

Lets get to some of the amazing wildlife we encountered while at our campsite. There were plenty of lizards soaking up the sun including this little guy in the bottom corner that was competing for some rays.

The sun brought out many other cold blooded animals including a friendly snake right beside us.

After all the other campers had left, a curious coyote checked out what was available......

 

There was 20 minutes of frustrated crying but eventually Brooke went down for her nap.

Followed by some play time with mom.

Dinner cooked over a fire was delicious.

Once dinner was finished, it was time for a movie in the van.

Then watched the sun go down.

After our camping excursions are over we generally rate them as successful or not and this rated as a good one. I am more than pleased that we can now pull in over 10amps of free power during peak sun periods with our solar set-up. We are also looking forward to testing out some other high altitude campsites in the future.













Lake Perris

Lake Perris is an artificial lake that is the southern terminus of the California State Water Project. At less than 70 miles from home we decided that we had to visit and explore. After an easy 1+hr drive, we arrived early in the morning to this view in our new campsite for the evening.

After setting things up, we had to check out the lake and discovered that this was the best fresh water swimming we have experienced so far in SoCal. It was cool and clean and very refreshing.

 

 

 Swimming completed, we headed back to our campsite for Brooke's nap.

This amazing girl of ours adapts so well to our camping excursions, we are so lucky to have such a versatile child. Brooke's sleeping allowed us to enjoy our thing.

 

I had to take a picture of our awesome "Supervan" as well



After nap time it was time to explore.

 

We then headed down to the boat launch area for some beautiful views.

A little dinner cooked on the fire followed by an evening movie (that Brooke had no interest in watching) and our day was done.

Although this was a short one day trip, it was still quite enjoyable and we will most likely be returning to Lake Perris again.