Packing took approximately 3 hours this morning. I was eager to leave so I could get here in time to stake my claim and the best campsite. Ideally I would leave at 9am – realistically I left at 11am.
The drive was beautiful. My route took me straight through Coalinga – beautiful Coalinga! I’ve always disliked the drive to Coalinga – it’s so boring and mundane. But I’ve never continued past Coalinga into the mountains, and I have to say it’s an amazing drive! Absolutely beautiful! I may dare say it’s worth the drive to Coalinga – maybe.
The campground I chose is Santa Lucia Memorial Park campground (also known as “The Indians”). I chose it because it’s a lesser known camping location in Los Padres National Forest, yet still had some great reviews. I also learned that I can camp anywhere in the forest if I choose (just need a campfire permit if I want to use fire – which is as simple as printing out the permit from the internet and signing it!), so if it fills up and I can’t concentrate I could potentially retreat further. The last thing I want on my “solitude” is a bunch of people!
I must say, I’m impressed so far. And despite my late departure I still arrived early enough to stake my claim! As I was sitting down to write this, a car and two big white vans of (what looks like) college kids arrived, and it looked like they were going to claim the site right next to me. Ugh! The first thing they did was turn on their music and start looking for the beer. Luckily they moved to a different location and aren’t quite as loud from here. I don’t know, maybe God wants me to deal with my distaste for people who impose their noise on me? Could be. I hope not. Maybe He’s just showing His sense of humor? Even so, perhaps I should talk to him about that anyway. Maybe I’ll get some wisdom on that subject.
To get to the camp you have to enter through a military base (Fort Hunter Liggett). That was quite an experience. Camouflage Hum-V’s everywhere! Quite a few were equipped with a gun on the roof, and each of those had a soldier standing at the trigger as they drove by. It was impressive and scary, and I loved the experience!
So when I arrived I quickly set up camp and did a little exploring. There’s a creek right nearby (no fish that I can see). My campsite has two tables, a fire pit and a BBQ. It’s nice! The weather is great and it’s peaceful. I cooked dinner (campfire stew) and am doing great! I miss my family of course. I pray nobody else shows up. The mosquitoes could take a break, too. But all’s well; I’m happy.
Follow-up: all of the campsites are now occupied. There are only two campsites in my area, and the one next to me is taken by two nice, quietly talkative ladies. I can deal with that.
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