We knew we wanted to take The Road Haus out for a weekend campout, and planned on one of our favorite August getaways, Sand Flat campground at Clark Fork of the Stanislaus River. We had been going there on and off since forever, but a couple weeks before we planned to go, one of the many wildfires of this hot summer consumed the area all around the campground. Time for Plan B.
After considering many nearby locations, we settled on Little Grass Valley Reservoir, near the town of La Porte, about 80 miles away. Despite the name, no, it was not close to our sister town of Grass Valley, A trip there in 2015 was one of the first trips we took our venerable Nash Trailer and it had some good memories.
Because we can, we decided to go on Sunday through Wednesday to avoid the crowds. Barry made the reservations, and we used Saturday to do some final organizing and packing of the rig. This was really our First Time out, all loaded with gear. Watermasters, camp chairs, cot, stove and barbecue, fully stocked kitchen, and of course, a makeshift wine cellar I created in one of the cavernous over-cab cabinets.
While the distance was not long, the drive actually was. West on familiar Highway 20, then north on Highway 36, which winds its way in a picturesque, rural and meandering way, connecting several small outposts of civilization. We remembered our last trip here, and how we thought we were never going to get there! A quick stop in La Porte and then on to find the campground. Oddly, as with our first visit here, we passed the turnoff, and then were not sure we were on the right road, as it turned to gravel for a good stretch. But eventually, we found our campground, then our site, and were pleased that it turned out to be one of the best we could see – separated from the adjoining sites, and with a nice view of the lake that was maybe 150 yards away.
That evening and the rest of the two full days we spent there were amazingly activity free. The lake was pretty big, with pretty significant winds – although our campsite was almost dead calm and just perfect temperature – so we opted to not take the Watermasters out. A few strolls around the campgrounds was about the extent of it. We both read alot — I completed the Unity Owner’s Manual by Monday mid-day and then took over reading the memoir of a good friend of Neil’s, John Hoyte, “Persistence of Light”, which was a great read. Spent time tinkering with some of the RV setup, but mostly everything had been packed well, no casualties of the twisty-turny drive, but still a good opportunity to make notes of things we still wanted to outfit the rig with, move things around as we actually lived in it. And, of course . . . the food and drinks. Lovely evening campfires.
We took our time on Wednesday morning to slowly pack up and head out. I drove most of the way home, and it reinforced how easy it is to drive, given it’s about 11,000 pounds going down the road. We had The Road Haus back to Madrone Haus a little after noon. Mission Accomplished!
The Road Haus Chronicles 