November 7, 2012

Lake Morena RV

 Campo, CA

We are really very happy with Lake Morena RV and couldn’t ask for a nicer site.  The only drawback, besides the extra doses of uranium in the water, is that there is no TV reception.  There is a hook-up for cable TV but it isn’t working.  When I inquired about the cable in the office I was told the former residents of the site were able to get reception.  It’s no big deal because the wifi works really well here and because of that we are able to watch shows on HULUplus. 

When we first arrived yesterday my car was running on fumes so the first order of business for this morning was to find a gas station.  The closest one was less than 4 miles away.  Actually there were two stations directly across from one another so we had a choice.  The Circle K was a few pennies more a gallon so we opted to fill up at the no-name village station. 

From the station to our next destination was only 7 miles.  We arrived at Lake Morena Regional Park at 11:30.  Morena Reservoir lies in the middle of 3,250 acres of chaparral, oak woods, and grassland.  The lake is the highest and most remote of the city’s reservoirs.  The park shows characteristics of desert, coastal and mountain habitats due to its location southwest of the Laguna Mountains.  The campground consists of 86 sites, 58 of which have water and electric.  There is no dump station.  We had considered staying at the park prior to finding the campground we are currently staying at.  After seeing the Regional Park campground, with a daily rate of $20, we were glad we changed our plan because Lake Morena RV, at a daily rate of $16.50, is ascetically more pleasing.   

We went into the Ranger Station to pay the $3 day use fee and got a map from Dale, who happens to reside full-time at the same RV Park where we are staying.  He told us where to park and which trail to take.  We were given a sign to put on the windshield with the time we were departing so that if we weren’t back by closing time at 5 they could narrow down which trail we took.  HUH? 

After finding a shady place to park, we changed into our hiking boots, donned long-sleeved shirts to protect our skin from the intense heat of the sun, grabbed our trekking poles and backpacks and set off on what we thought was the trail. 

 It wasn’t long before we realized we were kind of lost.  I say kind of because we could still see the lake and therefore knew we could find our way back by following the shoreline.  But we were lost as far as not being on a trail at all.  We found a shady place on a huge boulder to rest and eat lunch.  I jokingly told Monte that I was only going to eat half a sandwich just in case we couldn’t find our way back before dark and couldn’t get rescued until morning.  (I really only ate half-just in case) 

I also was being very conservative with my water consumption.  (Just in case)  We agreed that we had been very foolish to go off the main trail and even more foolish not to be prepared for emergencies by not having at least a lighter or a flashlight with us.  When Monte scraped his hand on a boulder he grabbed at when he started to fall, we vowed to pack a first aid kit for future hikes.  We also wished that we had worn long pants because we had to squeeze through some sticker bushes.

 

It was getting late and had to decide to continue climbing towards some power lines (which usually means there is a road nearby) or try to retrace our steps by going down towards the river.  We chose to go down and a half hour later we were back at the car where I promptly ate the other half of my sandwich and drank the rest of the water in my bottle.

 

We stopped in at the Ranger Station on our way out to let them know we were leaving so they knew they wouldn’t have to send out a rescue party.    It had been a very exhausting but wonderful day but I can definitely see a day of being a couch potato in my immediate future.