Camping Archives - LimByLim

Big Bear Family Hiking

August 6, 2020 7 Comments

Our Pineknot Campground Experience

Here are some more details about our two-night stay at Pineknot Campground near Big Bear Lake. This campground is actually located at the base of Snow Summit ski resort. We made reservations online ahead of time. There is no one to check you in at the entrance, so we drove directly to our reserved site. At around 8:30 at night, we were all in the tent talking, and we heard a voice call out asking “Are you in there?” We thought the question was directed towards someone else, but n yelled back to be funny. Then a flashlight beamed on and off in our tent, so I sent D out to see what was going on. It turns out the camp host had been looking for us to officially check us in. He claimed we were not there, even when he saw our car at the site. Hmm…

As you can see, the sites are pretty large. This was site 31, which was nice because we only had neighbors on one side. The bathroom was just the right distance, too. Not too close, and not too far. (There are no shower facilities).

I had read multiple reviews that commented how well this campground was maintained. Unfortunately, that did not seem to be the case when we were there. The trash dumpster that was near us was at-capacity during our entire stay. I would say that the bathrooms were in the bottom third in terms of cleanliness/pleasantness of all the campgrounds we have stayed at. You know it is bad when you are seeking bathrooms in the grocery store just so you can avoid one trip to the one at your campground.

Breakfast at Dank Donuts

Our current car is a small sedan, so we did not have any room for camp cooking equipment. This meant eating out, which was fine with us! We stopped for breakfast at Dank Donuts. We ordered coffee for D, split two breakfast burritos, and three donuts.

You know how we love our breakfast burritos! It was premade, and kept in a warmer, but it was still very tasty. The accompanying salsa made it even better (not shown). Also, not sure why I did not take a picture of the donuts, but they were good as well. Someone needs to try the croissants and tell me how they are. They were HUGE! We ate our breakfast on the side of the road before our morning hike.

Castle Rock Trail

I wanted to hike Castle Rock Trail early in the morning, both to beat the crowds and to avoid the heat of the day. It is also best to go early because parking can be precarious. There is no lot, so you are parking on a busy curvy mountain road with no sidewalks. The trail itself is 2.4 miles round trip and is classified as intermediate/difficult. As we were returning to our car, someone asked D if the trail was suitable for strollers, and I would say definitely not! It is quite steep and rocky in places, and quite a workout.

This crazy guy had already woken up early and gone running before our strenuous hike.

Our arrival to Castle Rock was anti-climatic, as we did not even know we had reached it! We saw some rocks, but was not sure it was our final destination, so we kept on hiking. It was only after some time of not seeing many other hikers that we realized we had already passed it.

By this time, our energy and enthusiasm was running low, and the sun was warming up.

Woodland Interpretive Trail

Here’s a story for you: We recuperated with a picnic lunch at a local park, and then I convinced everyone to go on one last hike on the Woodland Interpretive Trail. We were trying to find parking, so I directed D to park on the side of the road where we saw a bunch of other cars parked. Unfortunately, we ended up getting stuck in sand! Our tires were spinning, but our car would not move-doh! I got out of the car to inspect the situation, and it felt like everyone was looking at our predicament, shaking their heads. Fortunately, two kind strangers (who were friends with each other) ended up helping D push our car while I put the car in reverse. I was so relieved that the situation did not end up being worse!! We ended up finding out that there was a whole parking lot dedicated to the trail, and parking was plentiful. (A national forest parking permit was required, but we had purchased one ahead of time for $5 at the nearby 7-11).

I would like to say that the 1.5 mi Woodland Trail was worth all of that, but in the end it was just too warm to be enjoyable. This was the only picture I took! I think it would be a good trail for younger kids in cooler weather, however. There are sixteen markers with an accompanying map that explains interesting natural features of the trail.

Dinner at Tropicali

For dinner, we treated ourselves to Tropicali. I heard about this place on Yelp, where they have a crazy amount of five star reviews.

We placed our order inside and ate on the back patio. I think the customer service is what sets this place apart. It is so over-the-top friendly, with a surfer dude vibe. Even though we had to stifle our laughter a bit at the corniness of it all, I can see why people appreciate the atmosphere.

The food was excellent, as well. We ordered three ahi tuna poke bowls and a chicken bowl for variety.

Post-Dinner Activities

We tend to eat dinner really early, and vacation is no exception. We had some time to kill back at our campsite, so we took a little walk around the neighborhood. D had seen some impressive homes on his morning run, so he showed some of them to us.

Pretty crazy, right?

n was bored, so he came up with a his own outdoor version of the game Mancala. I thought it was quite ingenious.

We tried to see Comet Neowise at night, but there were too many trees blocking our view, and I think it was too late in the month. Although the temperature dipped down to the 40’s, we stayed warm in our tent. We returned home the next morning in need of a shower. However, it’s these kinds of trips that I know will stay with our family forever.

Camping, Restaurant Reviews, Vacation

A Short Big Bear Lake Getaway

August 2, 2020 1 Comment

One week ago, we went on a two-night camping trip in Big Bear Lake, CA. Since school starts in less than two weeks, this was our last hurrah of summer.

It takes about two hours to drive to Big Bear from Orange County. There are a lot of switchbacks up the mountain, but thankfully D drove and I did not get carsick this time.

Boulder Bay Park

Our first stop was Boulder Bay Park. This park, located on the south side of the lake, is quite popular. We arrived around 11 a.m. on Sunday morning and the small parking lot was full. There were cars parked all along the street, despite “No Parking” signs. Acting like lemmings, we took our chances and did the same. (We sat at a bench within viewing distance of our car in case we saw someone starting to issue tickets). Our picnic lunch on a bench consisted of sandwiches, chips, carrots and drinks. The weather was SO pleasant with a slight breeze coming off of the lake. There was fertilizer on the grass, so I would not recommend sitting on the ground right now. I would also note that there is also a well-maintained restroom near the parking lot.

Big Bear City Hall-Happy Hills Trail

Next on our agenda was to do the short (.2 mi each way) Happy Hills Trail hike behind Big Bear City Hall. Since it was the weekend, the large parking lot was empty.

The City Hall building looks nice and new and has beautiful landscaping.

The trail itself was not crowded at all. I think we saw one other party of two the whole time we were there.

This pile of boulders made for some good picture-taking opportunities.

n reminded me of a mountain goat scrambling up these rocks.

This Happy Hills “hike” is more of a walk, and could be done even with little ones in tow.

Big Bear Lake Village

It was still a little early to check into our campground, so we made a stop at Big Bear Lake Village. This cute shopping district has a lot of dining options as well.

Some of the streets were blocked off to cars, which I believe was due to Covid. This allowed some of the restaurants to offer expanded outdoor dining options. It made for a nice pedestrian experience. I was very impressed by the number of people who were wearing masks in the Village.

Since it was starting to warm up, we were yearning for a cool treat.

We made a stop at An Ran Ju Gelato & Teahouse, which I had read about on Yelp.

It was a difficult choice since there were so many options, but we settled on a mix of passionfruit and lemon gelato. The passionfruit was tart and creamy, while the lemon tasted more like sorbet.

D ordered a milk green tea with boba, half-sweet. This did not taste like the boba milk tea we are used to. D saw them brew the tea with a real tea bag, so they do not rely on powder mixes. It definitely had more of a tea taste, and was not very sweet at all. If we had been there when it was cold, I am sure n would have loved one of their outrageous hot chocolate creations.

We did not go into any of the stores, but just walked around and did a little window shopping.

Pineknot Campground

I will go into more specifics about the Pineknot Campground in my next Big Bear post. We found our campsite without any problem and set up our tent. Then we had some time of R & R.

Pizza in Big Bear

For dinner we ordered pizza at Saucy Mama’s back in The Village.

Unfortunately, we were not very impressed with this pizza. First of all, there was WAY too much cheese. Second of all, the dough was extremely uneven, paper-thin in the middle and a thick outer crust. This made the pizza impossible to eat, with all of the cheese and toppings sliding off. D was also displeased with the lackluster service that just seemed like a bunch of younger people who did not really care about their job. This place does have a lot of positive reviews, so maybe we just caught them during a mid-summer slump.

Stanfield Marsh Wildlife and Waterfowl Habitat Park

After dinner we took a walk at the Stanfield Marsh Wildlife and Waterfowl Habitat Park.

There is a nice boardwalk that lets you walk near the marsh. (Tip, once the first boardwalk ends, keep walking and you will find another boardwalk if you want to extend your walk).

We were able to see some birds off in the distance.

At the end of our walk, we also saw a large pelican take off from the water (no picture though).

We went back to the campground and had a good night’s sleep. I will write about our next day later this week.

Camping, Vacation

Stay At A Yurt At Cachuma Lake

January 7, 2020 7 Comments

The second stop of our winter break road trip was the Cachuma Lake campground near Santa Barbara. According to Google Maps, the driving time from Ronald Reagan Library should have been about an hour and half. However, it took us a grueling 5.5 hours! I blame it on the fact that I-5 was shut down due to snow and everyone and their mother decided to take the 101 instead.

How to Reserve A Yurt

Cachuma Lake has seven lake-side yurts available. Reservations can be made online here and range from $75-$100 per night, depending on the size. If you are not going to arrive at the campsite before 4 or 5 p.m., be sure to call ahead and let the ranger know. I called since we we were stuck in traffic, and the ranger kindly left the light on for our yurt and left the key inside for us. Since we arrived in pitch black darkness, our yurt was a bit difficult to find on our own, but thankfully we made it! Such a relief!

I reserved the Sage yurt for two nights right after Christmas. We could not even see the lake until the next morning, but what a view!

The Amenities

Each yurt has a door with a lock. The window coverings can be rolled up or down.

The Sage yurt is one of the smaller yurts available, sleeping 4-5 people. There were two bunks, with one of the bunks having a bigger mattress on the bottom. This worked our perfectly for our family of four. The kids slept on the top bunks (they still think this is fun!) while D and I slept on the bigger bottom mattress. We used the other empty mattress as a storage area for all of our stuff. We brought sheets to cover the mattresses and then used our sleeping bags and extra blankets on top. It was actually quite comfortable compared to camping! I seriously slept like a baby!

Besides the bunks, there was one small table and a small space heater. There was also an overhead light and a couple of electrical outlets. We brought an electric kettle to heat up water for cup o’ noodles, oatmeal and coffee/hot chocolate. There was also a fire pit right outside each yurt.

At night we played Bananagrams and Spot It, and read books in our cozy yurt. It was nice to spend some quality family time together.

The Restroom Situation

The closest bathroom was a bit of a trek from our yurt. It was perfectly fine during the day, but kind of a pain at night. However, the bathroom was one of the cleanest we have used at a campsite. Part of the reason may have been because it did not seem to be getting much use from fellow campers. (Who else is crazy enough to camp in December?) We never even ran into one other person while using it! I should also mention that here was a trio of port-a-potties that were closer to the yurts. D used one of them at night, but it was pretty bad, so this is not recommended!

A Spectacular View

Each yurt has a wrap-around deck that maximizes the lake view. Our deck had two plastic chairs for hanging out.

The Sage, Poppy and Lupine yurts have a nice sunset view, while the Oak, Sycamore, Pine and Redwood yurts reportedly have a glorious sunrise.

You could also see tons of stars once the sun went down. The nights we stayed in December were definitely cold (mid 30’s), but the space heater really helped. I would highly recommend the Cachuma Lake yurts if you are looking for a budget-friendly yurt experience in Southern California.

Camping, National Parks, Vacation

The Forgotten Park & Post: Lassen Volcanic National Park

October 18, 2018 No Comments

Poor Lassen Volcanic National Park. It is probably the least known National Park in California. It was also the last park that we needed to visit in order to check off all of the National Parks in California. It is also the vacation blog post I have taken the longest to write. (I partially blame that on my shifting work schedule, but things seem to be settling down now).

During the drive from Crater Lake to Lassen, we stopped in the town of Bieber for a pit stop and lunch.

This was the bathroom situation…Bwahahaha.

The food situation was actually not bad. This BLT salad had a lot of bacon. And a lot of cheese, as you can see.

We checked into our Manzanita Lake campsite and quickly set up camp.

Then we headed to Manzanita Lake and decided to rent a kayak. I am pretty sure the kayaks were meant to hold 2-3 people, but the person in charge let us all go in one together.

In retrospect, I am not sure this was the best idea as the kayak felt quite tippy with four. I was getting a core workout trying to keep us centered.

I did not want to bring my camera, so I used my iphone. But then I was nervous about dropping my iphone in the water, so I would not consider this a relaxing time. Thankfully, we did not capsize!

We ended up buying paninis from the camper store for dinner.

Post-dinner s’mores.

We were thankful that the air was not as smokey as in Oregon, but there was still a haze. To be continued…

Camping

Perfect “Beginners” Campground In Orange County

February 27, 2018 No Comments

We have done our fair share of car camping in California and throughout the West. One of our family’s favorite campgrounds is only about twenty minutes away from where we live: Moro Campground in Crystal Cove State Park which is located in Orange County, California. Reservations can be made online six months in advance. If you know the date you want to camp, I would highly suggest nabbing a site the first day possible. However, you might luck out with random cancellations. For instance, I was able to grab the one remaining reservation on a Friday night in February just about a month prior.

Why we love this campground (and why it is perfect for beginner campers):

Every site has an ocean view. Although it is located across PCH, the campground is on a gradual cliff, which affords everyone an amazing view of the Pacific Ocean.
There is direct access to the beach. You can easily drive down to the beach (it is walkable, but it is fairly steep) without leaving the campground. And the beach there is gorgeous–see our pictures!
The bathrooms are CLEAN. These are seriously some of the cleanest campground bathrooms we have encountered.
The environment is quiet and family-friendly. We have been camping in other parts of Orange County where it is much more of a party scene. We have always had courteous neighbors in our experience here (of course, your mileage may vary!)
The coastal location means fairly moderate temperatures. Camping here in February was not a problem, nor does it get too hot in the summer.

A couple of “cons”:

It is on the expensive side for campsites. One night cost us $55 + $8 reservation fee. However, it comes with one parking pass that can be used at any state park/beach for both days of your visit, which is usually $15 per day.
There are no wood or charcoal fires allowed, which is not a deal-breaker for us since we just use our gas stove to cook.
The campsites themselves are not very big, but there are large plants strategically placed in between each site so that you still have a feeling of privacy.

We are loving our REI Kingdom 6 tent. We are still amazed at how roomy it feels inside compared to our Base Camp 4.

So pretty at sunset!

They can be cute even when they are being disagreeable.

That’s better!

There was a whale spotting just off shore, and this whale watching tour boat came in for a closer look. (We just saw some spouts/splashes).

This man had just come in from a paddle.

I kept on putting away my camera and then taking it out again because I could not stop taking pictures!

After enjoying the beach, you can just go back to your campsite, prepare dinner and enjoy the rest of your night. I hope that this post convinces you to try camping at Moro Campground!

Camping

Point Mugu Sycamore Campsite

September 12, 2016 No Comments

We had reservations for the Point Mugu Sycamore Campsite, but did not have a specific campsite assignment. The ranger recommended 50 to us, so we took it. We were later told by someone researching the campground that we had one of the two best sites, so that was nice. It was a little trek to the bathroom, but not too bad. We were notified that the water was going to be turned off on Monday and Tuesday–doh! However, we were out all day on Monday, so it did not really affect us. Also, the bathrooms were pretty nasty in general, but what can you do?

The campsite was spacious, so that was nice. The mosquitos attacked right when we set up camp, but then left us alone for the most part.

We made a last minute decision to cook our dinner (hot dogs) the first night, so we brought some charcoal. Luckily, someone had left us extra firewood–score!

We picked up these brioche buns from the farmer’s market, but I was not too impressed. They did not taste like they were baked that day.

Jumping for joy!

Next up: S’mores!

Messy marshmallows!

Our tent feels a little smaller each time we go camping, with the kids getting bigger. However, n loves our tent and insists that we do not need a bigger one. We close each night by sharing our favorite moments of the day, usually followed by a few rounds of Twenty Questions. We all had a good laugh when n correctly guessed that k was thinking of “platypus” on like the third question!

Camping

Our 1st Cub Scout Overnight Camp Experience

July 1, 2016 No Comments

The Friday morning before Memorial Day weekend, n’s Cub Scout den led the flag ceremony at school.

After school we drove to Camp Trask, a campground owned by the Boy Scouts which is located in Monrovia. With traffic, it took about two hours.

We set up camp with our trusty REI Basecamp 4. The whole group site was on an incline, so we just made sure our heads were at the top. While we were setting up, a bear walked right behind the bathroom and to the side of our group site! We have never had such a close bear encounter. Fortunately, the bear left us alone for the rest of the weekend, much to the dismay of some of the cub scouts!

There was a camp kitchen, but we opted to do the first dinner on our own. We just warmed up some pre-cooked chicken and cooked up some tortillas for easy burritos.

As more people arrived, our quarters became closer to each other. I think we were the only family with four people in a four person tent. Most families had 8-10 person tents!

One nice part about camping with other families is that the kids keep themselves occupied!

We gathered here Friday night for “Cracker Barrel”, which consisted of crackers, cheese, chips, cookies, etc. They also showed a movie called “Scout Camp”. We only stayed for about the first twenty minutes though. Let’s just say there is a reason you have never heard of this movie!

They had strict rules about passing a swim test before doing any pool or lake activities. The lake was not too impressive, so we did not bother.

The lake.

There was a lot of activities that you could choose to do. We lined up for archery first.

D did archery later on in the day when there was no line and did pretty well.

Next we did sling shots, aiming kidney beans at tin cans and other targets.

D, n and I all shot our first BB guns. (k had already done it with her Brownie troop and didn’t feel like it that afternoon).

Being the crafty mom, I had them do a little leather work. They sewed a coin pouch.

We participated in the camp kitchen by washing dishes Saturday night and cooking breakfast Sunday morning. When asked what her favorite part of camp was, k said “Washing dishes!” We need to transfer that enthusiasm to our home!

As you can see, it takes a lot of organization and planning!

For dinner we had chicken, steak, beans, corn and Asian slaw. And s’mores for dessert of course. There was a group campfire on Saturday night, complete with spooky stories. The boys who had been there before really wanted to hear a story from last year and kept chanting, “Black-Eyed Ghost! Black-Eyed Ghost!”

Camp lasted until Monday, but we opted to go home on Sunday morning. When we woke up, it was actually raining. Not too hard, but enough to get everything wet. It took us while to dry all of our equipment out at home.

It was nice to experience the camp as a family. I was not too sure if n should join cub scouts before, but now I am really glad he did. I feel like it exposes him to so many things that he would otherwise probably not do.

Camping

Fourth Annual Small Group Camping Trip

September 23, 2014 No Comments

This past weekend we returned to Crystal Cove to camp with our small group. Friday was D’s birthday, so we celebrated at the campsite with apple pie, Twinkies, and Ding Dongs, all from Costco.

D was also able to pick up his free birthday sandwich from Jersey Mike’s and cupcake from Sprinkles!

Our REI Basecamp 4 is still going strong. It actually feels a little bit more spacious now because the kids have become less active sleepers. No more feet in our face, etc.

What do kids do when there are no electronics/toys to distract them? Play in the dirt, of course.

We woke up to an overcast sky, which lasted until about 2 p.m. I was thankful for the cloud cover, especially after the scorching heat of last week.

Having fun in the sand…

…and the water.

Camping, National Parks, Vacation

Sequoia National Park: Lodgepole Camping

September 1, 2014 No Comments

After exploring Kings Canyon National Park, we drove to the Lodgepole campsite. Upon arrival we stopped at the Lodgepole Visitor Center. We watched a short movie about the history of black bears in the park. After seeing footage of bears breaking into cars, we were thoroughly convinced about the necessity of using the bear boxes to store our food at the campsite.

The kids found this “walking stick” at the campsite, which fits perfectly into the groove on the left of the rock that they are sitting on. They named the rock the “king’s chair”.

Our campsite was #96, which was perfect for us, in that it was close to the bathroom, and the parking space was right next to the campsite. We were also a bit isolated from our neighbors, which was a good things since our kids get loud. I don’t think I ever heard a peep from our neighbors, who were all nestled below, along the riverbank. It was nice to hear the soft gurgling of the river throughout the day and night.

This was the bathroom. Throughout our stay, D and I only encountered one person one time in the bathroom, which was nice.

For the first time in a long time, we built a fire instead of using our stove. The kids had fun collecting firewood around our campsite, which is allowed here. The fire was dying by the time I took this picture, but we got it going again later.

It was one of the prettier campsites we have stayed at.

With a fire, s’mores are a must.

This guy visited our campsite once the food was out.

Standing tall like trees.

The view from inside our tent.

We took a short stroll to the river after dinner. The water level was quite low, as you can tell.

Taking a quick dip. They said the water was cold, and I took their word for it.

The sunset was largely blocked by the trees, but was still pretty. The stars were really bright, too.

We went to the ranger talk at the Lodgepole amphitheater which started at 8 p.m. The talk was given by Ranger Jean Paul, who shared all about his interest, nay obsession, with Peregrine Falcons and Golden Eagles. His interest in the falcons began when he read “My Side of the Mountain” as a youth. I always admire people who are so interested in something that they become experts on the topic. However, once his talk began getting close to an hour, I knew we would have to leave early. The kids were getting tired, and I was actually surprised they had lasted that long. I didn’t want to be rude, but a few other people had already left, so we left too. We ended up seeing Jean Paul at two other different places on Saturday, which was kind of funny.

Camping, National Parks, Vacation

Camping & Hiking @ Indian Cove

March 18, 2014 1 Comment

On Friday afternoon we drove to Joshua Tree. Not surprisingly, we hit traffic, so what should have been a two hour trip ended up being a three hour trip.

The Indian Cove campsite is one of only two campsites in Joshua Tree that takes reservations. This was the most “primitive” campsite that we’ve been to so far, since there were no flush toilets—only pit toilets. They were actually not that bad though—they’re just regular shaped toilets that do not flush.

We were in campsite #69. The site itself was pretty small (#70 looked a little bigger). However, we were surrounded by magnificent rocks. The kids had us say a prayer that the rocks would not roll down on top of us while we were sleeping.