I was to take a single night trip to Calaveras Big Trees state park about 70 miles away this Sunday and Monday. Just as I was about to head out to Calaveras I checked on the camping options in the park and was quickly reminded why I left the state of California; $35 camping fee on top of the park entry fee… and “it is against state law to bring a weapon into a California state park“. So, as usual California is so ass-backwards that they force a LEGAL gun owner to abandon our constitutional rights just to camp in their over-priced park. They just do not see the logic that an ILLEGAL gun owner would not be detoured by this law so the only people being penalized here are LEGAL gun owners.
Well… fuck em! I have no issues at all camping elsewhere, so that is exactly what I did by going to a National Forest campground operated by the National Forest Service. Not only am I allowed to defend myself by having my guns with me… even loaded and on my belt… I could even step out of my van and do some target shooting if I so please… all within the California state and there was nothing their piddly little state laws could do to stop me.
Pipi Valley Campground is a campground I went to as a child of 8 or 9 years old with multiple other families close to ours. I have fond memories of this camping trip; swimming in the stream, catching snakes on the shore, and just having some of the best times of my life. All of my adult camping has been bench-marked by the trip to Pipi when I was a kid and I was pleased to make a return, if even ony for a single night.
Lucky for me (and Mom) that my work-week ends on Sunday afternoon and begins on Tuesday. This means we arrive as the masses leave these campgrounds. Pipi campground has 48 camp sites and only 4 or 5 were occupied, including us. We camped hear the bathroom for Mom, and only a short distance from the river as well. No other campers nearby other than the elderly couple hosting the camps.
Our camp area was heavily forested with pine trees a hundred feet tall along with the nearby white noise of the river. 
We quickly setup and paid the $11 camping cost (HA!) and settled in for a afternoon of relaxation and reading… for about an hour. It didn’t take long from Mom to look up from her book to announce, “I’m hungry” and I concurred by firing up the BBQ for our planned hotdogs, chips, and a few beers for me.
We toured the river area, read our books a bit more, and as the sun was setting we watched a few episodes of Big Bang Theory in the van before calling it a successful half-day of camping. Even Belle was ready for bed.
Mom and Belle took the van while I slept out in the tent, using my $5 1960′s fold out cot that I found in the flea-market store a few months back for the first time. It cooled only to the mid 40′s over night but it was not the possibility of the cold that kept me awake, or near awake, all night. My past three attempts to sleep in a tent has ended in three sleepless nights, some after some massive hiking to tire me before bed. Last night was no different, with only a short periods of sleep all night long. Mom said she slept great…
My alarm sounded at 6:30am and I was only happy to get up and moving. We quickly got through the necessities of coffee, toast, and nature-calls and I grabbed the camera to document the sunrise in the forest around the river which was brilliant as the sun was shining right down the river. I was taking a few shots and running further down the river for a few more as the sun got there… then repeated again a few more yards down the river (see pictures below).
When I returned to the camp, Mom got busy preparing a breakfast of eggs and potatoes to give us the energy to re-pack the van. After only 16 hours camping we were heading back into ‘civilization’ though we took the long route through and around the mountains… which seemed to get us home quicker than the highway we took to come in. We were home by 1pm but satisfied in our tiny little adventure that seemed to tire Mom and Belle to the point of a nap when we got in to the house. I have decided not to nap in hopes I will get a whole night’s sleep tonight when I slip between the sheets… fingers crossed.
Pipi Valley pictures:
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