A 24-Hour Visit to… Lake Piru.

Having been house bound for months since our last trip in February to Newport Dunes for the FOTR rally, we were antsy to get out and do some camping in ‘The Mish’. We rallied up some friends and family during the week and got a group of us to hit up a local campground. Lake Piru.

Lake Piru is located in Ventura County, California, in the Los Padres National Forest next to the Sespe Condor Sanctuary.  They have camp sites ranging from a primitive tent site to full hookup sites. Electric only sites cost $31 a night during the peak season with tent sites at $27 while a  full-hookup site costs $42 a night but only 5 of them are available per the map.

We got an electric-only site at the west end of the campground against some olive trees at site #188. The rest of our party took up 2 tent sites right across the way from us at 189 and 191.  Additional cars are $12 each while a pet visiting with you will cost you 2 bucks more a night . Reservations need to be made by phone or fax at least a week in advance with 2 night minimum. We chanced it and we were able to get right in with plenty of vacancy this time of year. We also only needed to paid for only one night since the 2-night minimum only applies for reservations.

One of the strange things about this campsite is the lack of water supply around the camp. There is maybe one spigot for every 10 sites where you would have to walk to in order to just rinse off a little dirt. And dirt we had. It just so happened that we had landed in a middle of a heat wave during this weekend. It was probably in the 90s during the day which is very abnormal for this time of year in our part of the country. At night, it probably dip to the low 50’s which is fine by us but not so great for our friends sleeping in tents.

Lake Piru Campground used to be an old olive tree grove and that’s where the  camp sites were situated. Surrounding each campsite we had old olive trees sitting atop 2 feet of root because the rest of the dirt around it had eroded away. What’s left of the dirt along with the high heat makes for the finest dirt dust that gets into every crevice of you and your gear. We got set up with our full awning to help curb the heat while Ava and her friend Grace got busy getting their hands dirty.

Here they are picking up little BB’s some other campers left on the ground. That should have been a hint of just what kinda camping we were getting into. The last tenant sat in their beach chairs squeezing rounds out of their pellet guns right at their site. At least it kept the girls busy as we set up camp for our short visit.

Here is one of those trees that sit 2 feet above the ground with exposed roots. Looks like this tree was the victim of the BB gun attack as well since the girls found plenty of little orange balls in and around it.

This is Ava’s cousin Nathan. His mom Maryann brought little squirt guns for the kids to play with as she anticipated the hot weather. Too bad we didn’t have a faucet at the site to fill them up.

“What is wrong with these thing!!?? They are broken!”

Being at a Lake, we wanted to play at the lake. Nathan’s dad Glen brought his new REI canoe and launched it at the ramp where the water level is visibly lower by a good 15 feet. It was so low that one of the ramps was completely dry. We were able to walk down the ramp onto what use to be the lake bottom and set up a little basecamp and hangout there awhile.

“Umm. This is the ‘beach?’ “

The water temperature was nice but the muck on the bottom of the lake makes the color an unappetizing brown color not real suitable for swimming. Instead, we paddled around with the canoe and the kids played in the lake bottom mud that somewhat passes for sand.

“Oh no! It’s a big bug! Quick Ava, step on it!”

Here’s Ava getting a little overheated with those rosy cheeks.

Here she is cooling a bit in her bathing suit.

On the way back to camp, Ava and Grace came along for a ride with me and Glen in the canoe back to the launch ramp. Getting them to put on life jackets wasn’t real hard since their favorite cartoon friend Dora the Explorer always wears a life jacket when she goes in a boat.

Off we go! They did great in the boat. A couple of pumpy strokes with the paddle spooked them a little bit but they got right back into the adventure when I sang them a little Grumple Old Troll song from the Dora cartoon.

Back at the site, we were starting to settle back into the evening with a little meal and camp fire.

Since our site was at the end of the campground, we backed up right next to what’s left of the olive groves that were still alive and in the ground. It provided lots of shade and a place for the kids to run around playing monster.

“Oh no! The Dada monster is coming! Run away!!!”

We had an empty site right next to us which was nice so we could spread out a little bit while we made dinner for everyone. On the other side of that was a nice little Casita camper. They are also part of a group that includes a couple of tent sites across from them. I noticed the back of one of their raised Chevy 4×4 trucks that they are the owner of a Tattoo shop down the street from our house. I thought, ‘What small world? It’s my neighbor.” Little did we know that these people would stay up all night blasting their music, drinking beers and yelling at each other while shirt-less in 50 degree weather. What I really didn’t understand was that they too had little toddlers who were camping with them. I suppose this is all part of the lake camping equation.

Meanwhile back at Mali Mish, we had turned the AC on for the first time since we bought the trailer. So far we have camped only in the winter time or near the ocean so the weather had been nice and cool. It was nice to know that the AC works and cools down the trailer quickly. The kids needed a little change of scenery so a little tea party at the dining table was just the right ticket.

And a play date wouldn’t be complete without some monkeys jumping on the bed.

Alright, that’s all for now. Thanks for coming back to check out our adventures. There will be more to come soon!

“Go away blog monster! Go away!”

over and out,
dan