10 days ago the errant spouse asked me to go camping at the end of East Fork Road, above the east fork of the San Gabriel River. Since we gave up tent camping years ago, that meant bringing the motorhome out of storage and sprucing the old gal up. Groceries, dry ice, and load the baby and off we went.
We went up Wednesday evening after the traffic died down. The only thing you hear when you pull into your parking space is quiet and the river running 300 feet below you. Got the coach leveled and sat down and read some more. The dog needed a quick walk with the dad and then it was make the beds. Rearrange the table to make the bed, lay down the cushions, blow up the air mattress, get the sleeping bag and pillow laid out and go to sleep. The upper bunk gets the same treatment. I sleep below because I have to get up and go to the head more than once a night.
We've got a queen sized enclosure over the cab and the small double area in the back. A stove, fridge, and head. No shower. So after a couple of days it's time to head back to the land of hot showers.
Morning #1 we do some cleanup and sit and have our hot chocolate. It's a pleasure to sit and enjoy the quiet. The spouse went up the hill behind what was the ranger station instead of down the river. Don't know if the dirt was productive because it hasn't been panned out here at home. That takes a lot of time. For some reason the quiet and fresh air makes dinner an early treat. We can't watch any movies because we're down a battery on the coach side so we retire to our bunks and read till it's time for turning off the battery. The quiet is what gets me. At home we have aircraft flying the reverse pattern from LAX at all hours, sirens from the fire trucks and police cars, horns honking, loud neighbors. Up there we have birds of prey and a stray coyote or two at night. I've seen 2 low flying police rescue choppers since I've been going there. National Forest vehicles make the loop of the parking lot, the police come up to use the restroom, but other than that it's quiet.
This is the view we'd wake up to every day. Pretty neat.
Morning #2, breakfast and then the spouse goes down to the river. The dog and I go down there about 3 hours later and watch him play in the water. We all walk back up to the coach and have lunch. He goes back down and comes back about 6 pm. After dark. I get kind of nervous after dark, there are critters out there. But here's a picture of the man and his gear:
That's about 100 lbs on his back. Next time he's taking his bike even though it's kind of sloped coming back up.
Another early evening. Not our typical Friday night.
The next morning, Saturday, we awake to lots of noise, people and a packed parking lot. It's the weekend and the people who run the bungee jumping off the Bridge to Nowhere (about 5.2 miles beyond the end of the road) are gathering their suckers...um patrons to go up there. Our quiet peaceful spot is jammed to the gills with day people. We load up and put everything away and head down the hill to the 210 Fwy, to the 605 South, to the 105 West to the 405 South. 3 exits later, we're nearly home. 57 miles and an entirely different mindset.
So I'm still sick. Voice comes and goes. Fever comes and goes. I drove today and that wore me out.
We're going up again. There has to be that one nugget that calls his name.
da bunny.
