October 19, 2012

Tule Campground (Success Lake)

Porterville, CA

When I read that Tule Campground was located at Success Lake in the Sierra Nevada foothills, I thought it sounded nice.  It isn’t!  It lacks that wow factor that we look forward to at a new location.

 

 It had been a relatively short drive (less than 200 miles) but the roads were horrible and we had to put up with the constant cutting off from other vehicles.  We were relieved at first to arrive at our destination (for just the amount of time it took us to realize how boring this place was).  We had a plan b but it would have meant driving another 60 miles and we were both exhausted so we decided to stay. 

The ranger gave us a map showing which sites would be available for the next week.  I had originally told her we might want to stay that long.  Monte parked and got into my car and we checked out all the sites that have power the ranger had marked on our map.  We settled on a site and I drove Monte back to the parking lot and dropped him off at the rig. 

It took a really long time to set up because the site (gravel) was very uneven.  We had to extend our front landing jacks the furthest they have ever been extended and we still weren’t level. 

 

While Monte set up outside I did my inside chores and then filled out the registration checking off only three days.  I wrote out a check for $45 (the rate reflects a 50% discount with Monte’s America the Beautiful Senior Pass) and deposited it in the Iron Ranger.  We plugged in Walmart in the GPS and luckily it was only 8 miles away.  We picked up a few items there and made a quick stop at Home Deport for some quick connect water connectors.  We noticed a sign for the Sequoia National Forest Supervisor’s Office.  (I had selected Tule campground because of its proximity to Sequoia National Forest.) We stopped in the office; picked up a booklet and got directions from the ranger for a good place for a hike we have planned for tomorrow to see the Sequoia’s. 

Back home I barbequed some hot dogs while Monte played with the antenna and after several attempts was able to received three channels.  A Spanish channel, Fox showing the baseball playoffs, and CBS. 

This is the first time we have been at a location where there was absolutely no cell reception.  It kind of freaks me out being without a phone.  We also were not able to receive reception on our MIFI so no internet either.