A CHANGE OF PLANS.
Day 111 – 36 degrees and partly sunny this morning. The Sopranos family group set up their chairs overlooking the river right by our “back yard”. The dog squealed & barked & got yelled at. And Simon Cowell joined them with his fishing rod. No, really, some guy who we swear was the spitting image of Simon Cowell walked through our back yard with his fishing rod towards James Gandolfini & crew. By 10 a.m. it was noisy enough that we’d decided to pack up & leave town. We’d booked this site for 3 nights with the intention of staying another three if the birding was good. We’d only stayed two nights so far, but Rob had done some research and found a promising area south and east of here: A large reservoir with several campgrounds near the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge which has three Refuge drives and numerous hiking paths. The reservoir itself has hiking & biking trails & kayaking opportunities. We decided to go ahead & move on. The prospects for peace & quiet at the current campground did not look good.
128 miles
Brannon Island State Recreation Area/State Park, 17645 Route 160, Rio Vista, CA 94571, (916) 777-6671, http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=487. This is a very nice Park located along a tributary of the Sacramento River & the Sacramento River itself. One section was closed for the season; the Day Use Area with boat launches and two campground loops were open all year. The loop offering water & electric hook-ups was nearly full; the loop with no hook-ups was almost empty when we arrived but more people were coming in when we left. We chose site #32, no hook-ups, water spigots throughout the Park, and a dump station. (The dump station was open when we scouted the Park but was closed the day we left.) There are paved hiking & biking trails. The campsites in the loop we were in were wide enough for a car and an RV no larger than 33 feet. Decent space between some sites, some close together, and some sites near the River. Large grassy space (back yards) to spread out & relax. Very clean. The sites in the hook-up loop were less roomy & closer together, closer to the Day Use Area, too. Light road and boat noise, not bad. Off-season rates $31 per night no hook-ups; $49 per night with hook-ups, both minus $2 senior discount. First come, first served in the winter. We would stay here again.
We departed at 11:15 a.m. with the intention of dumping tanks on the way out. The dump station was closer, darnit. 52 degrees, partly sunny. We drove east on Route 12 to Interstate 5 near Lodi, then headed south. Traffic soon got heavier as we approached the large city of Stockton and it became hazy & murky. We thought it was fog. Traffic continued to increase & we encountered several traffic jams when major Freeways branching off towards the San Francisco area intersected with I-5, shades of things to come the further south we travel. We stopped for lunch at a rest stop, then continued south. The flat lands were gone and rolling hills were back; these were not green but covered with dry, yellow-white long grasses. It would’ve been pretty & worth pictures had it not been so hazy out. We got off I-5 near Los Banos and drove west to the San Luis Reservoir which was huge. We arrived at 1:50 p.m., 59 degrees & very hazy.
We had not scouted out the campgrounds in this area beforehand because we didn’t know in advance we’d be coming here. We now know how helpful it is to do that. It’s more difficult & time consuming to drive through campgrounds in an RV with a car in tow. Sometimes spaces are tight & you shouldn’t back up for any distance when the car is hitched up. We checked out two different campgrounds, each with two loops to choose from. No reservations this time of year; first come, first served. Both campgrounds are part of the SRA system. Two other campgrounds, a group camp and a primitive, tent campground were not looked at.
Basalt Campground, 2 loops, about 80 campsites total. Way off the road, in the hills, above the reservoir. Literature says some campsites can handle 30-foot trailers & RVs. We could fit in some sites. Some campsites had room for a vehicle off to the side, others did not. Big RVs could not fit here. Clean and quiet. LOTS of birds and hawks, plenty of deer. There are big eucalyptus trees and some pines but things are spread out; if not hazy, there will be ample sunlight. We were told that this campground is protected from the heavy winds that can come through across the Reservoir below. $30 per night, minus $2 senior discount.
San Luis Creek Campground, 2 loops, about 50 campsites total. Close to the Reservoir & closer to the road and busy boating area, this is the more popular of the two campgrounds. All sites on the water were full. Sites were fairly close together and more open, not as many trees & bushes. About half the campsites were double campsites with two sites combined for small groups. The campground is subject to heavy winds. There is a 5 mile bike/hike paved trail that goes along the Reservoir. This campground was at least ½ full. Water & electric hook-ups at each site. $40 per night, minus $2 senior discount.
An hour and a half later we’d decided on site #50 at Basalt Campground, no hook-ups. Rob dumped the tanks & got fresh water. We were finally unpacked & set up at 4:30 p.m. There were only two other campsites in use at this campground loop.
The forest ranger at the Basalt ranger station where we checked in told us they had a resident female hawk that sits in a tree right by the ranger station everyday watching for squirrels. This was in response to me pointing out a hawk sitting close by that was not the least bit concerned with the commotion around her. He said the other day they had a bald eagle eating a fish. When Rob asked if the haze in the air was from the recent forest fires further south, he said that no, unfortunately, that was the smog which comes in from southern CA or the Bay area, dependent on the wind direction, and settles right in this valley. Ick. He did say that there are some days when it’s crystal clear here. We hope so because we intend to spend lots of time at the National Wildlife Refuge and heavy haze would hamper visibility (if not give us lung disease for sure, LOL). Anyway, we also had to get a boat inspection even though they are just kayaks, and it was required whether or not we were going to put the kayaks in the water. Inspected by the ranger, we passed & now have tags on our boats to indicate we aren’t spreading the invasive Zebra Mussel in CA waterways.
The only noise we heard all night was animal noises, birds & an owl. Windows were open in the afternoon; shades & blinds were open at night. YAAA. The girls LOVE watching all the birds flitting about in the campsite. We’re glad we moved.