Trial Run for the Soul

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sephson

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Location
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On Saturday I'll be hitting the road for a week and change to see how the camper conversion I recently finished on my Kia Soul works.

I'll keep y'all posted on my travels as I'm able. :D
 
well...you know where we'll be!!


...patiently standing by waiting for your road reports!! :D

Be safe and have fun out there!!!
 
Well, I'm having lunch on the shore of Lake Isabella. This is the first stop where I've had reliable internet access. I'll post pictures later.

My sleeping setup works well, as does my shower setup. The main area where my setup doesn't work is with my gear. I need to be much better organized so I don't have to unload the entire car to cook dinner.

But that's what this trip was about, finding put what works and what doesn't.

Tomorrow I head home.
 
Sephspon, that is the most common problem newbies run into--having to constantly shuffle things around. Often, plastic drawers and totes are all you need to have so it create a home for things.

One key is regaining wasted vertical space instead of having piles. Stacking drawers that go UP are often a good solution
Bob
 
or hang down in some cases...i keep some of my clothes in bins screwed to the ceiling cause im not good enough handyman to make actual cabinets :) i dont know what a kia soul is..not sure if itll work tho
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I can't wait to hear the details of your trip. I am working on my Sportage now, Storage looks like it will be very limited, so I am trying to rethink some things.
 
My first stop was the Carrizo Plain National Monument in the southwest corner of California's Central Valley, which is managed by the BLM.

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The San Andreas Fault

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The KCL Campground

I was very impressed with this campground. There was very little trash, just a bit in the fire pit, left by previous campers. There was not a hint of graffiti anywhere, and the vault toilets were in excellent condition, not stinky at all.

When I arrived late afternoon on a Saturday only one of the other campsite was occupied. There was an older couple camped there. I had a great conversation with them and learned quite a bit about the Carrizo Plain from them. They left the following morning. I did a bit of hiking on Sunday. It became clear very quickly, just how out of shape I've allowed myself to get in the last few months. Early in the evening of my second night there, a father daughter pair arrived at the campground, again very friendly people. I enjoyed visiting with them. They left about an hour before I left the next morning.


Supper my first night on the road.

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Rice with diced sausage, broccoli, red onion and mushrooms.

I'll post more pictures later as time permits.
 

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On to stop number two.

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On my way into the Big Sur area, I stopped off at a view area to watch the elephant seals.

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This is where I set up camp at a turnout along Will Creek Road.


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That poison oak sure is pretty. :s

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I left my propane lantern at home, so I picked up a new one at a Walmart in Paso Robles on my way to Big Sur. Naturally, I spent a fair bit of time playing with my new light source and my camera.

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Heading up the coast towards Big Sur proper.


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I stopped off at this little roadside coffee house and splurged on a mocha, not regular habit of mine, but something I enjoy every now and again. I love the big porthole windows in this place.


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Another camper I ran into suggested I stop by this place, the Henry Miller Memorial Library.
 

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Thanks for the suggestions Bob and DazarGaidin. I'm most likely going to go with the plastic drawers option. I just need to take a few measurements and see what size I need. I also need to make room in garage to store them when I'm not on the road and need a passenger vehicle.

On with the road trip report.

After moving up the coast into Big Sur proper, I was originally going to head back to the area I camped in the night before, but after paying $5.79 a gallon to refuel, I changed my mind and got online to find a place to camp. I came across the Botcher's Gap Campground, a pay campground. After a bit of math, I figured backtracking the 30 miles or so to my previous camping area would cost two gallons of gas for the 60 mile round trip, or $11.58, or I could pay $15 and spend the night at Botcher's Gap. I opted to spend the extra $3.42 for the pay site and move a few dozen miles closer to my next destination.

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This was a very well maintained campsite with a few hiking trails which I did not try out. I had a touch of a sore throat, so didn't much feel like hiking, plus it was sprinkling a bit, with the possibility of turning into full blown rain.

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The rain never materialized, but this slightly doctored (I added some additional spices.) tomato soup from a can, felt really good on my sore throat.
 

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From here I moved across the Central Valley over to the Sierra Nevadas.

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I spent two nights at the Nelder Grove Campground, roughly 20 miles south of Yosemite National Park. My first 24 hours there I had the entire campground all to myself. There were two other campers my second night.


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A bit of hiking. I'm pretty sure that's a dear print on the trail.

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A bit of cooking. Steak and mixed veggies on the left. I had to get a little creative for the meal on the right. My broccoli had started to liquify, so I did a mix of potato, red onion, and a granny smith apple to go with my pork chop.
 

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I saw a few deer on my way to my next campsite.

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I arrived at what was supposed to be my final campsite, the Cedar Creek Campground in the Sequoia National Forest. I really didn't care for this campground. It was too close to the road, the picnic table had graffiti all over it and previous campers had left trash all over the place. There were even bags of what looked like human excrement in a couple locations around the campsite. The best way I can describe my reaction to the condition in which I found this campsite is impotent rage. I was absolutely furious about what previous campers had done to the place, but I suppose fortunately, there was no one to focus my anger on. I picked up as much of the trash as I could, though I left the poop bags alone, and moved on to another camping area after only one night.


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The view from a turnout on the road to Lake Isabella.

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Lunch, which I made before I left the Cedar Creek Campground, on the shore of Lake Isabella. This is where I was when I made the third post in this thread.

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Searching for a campsite in the BLM managed Keyesville Recreation Area.


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My final campsite along a dirt road on a ridge. I really liked this campsite and wish I'd had more time to explore.

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My final dinner on this trip, macaroni and cheese with sliced brautwurst and yellow squash mixed in.

It was a great trip. I had a lot of fun, but more importantly, I got a good feel for what works and what doesn't in my road trip setup. I now know what I need to change before my next trip.

I need better, more organized storage. I need some good, non-stick cookware and I need to reorganize my under floor storage a bit. All told though, I think I'll have a pretty good setup once I make those little tweaks.
 

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What a great trip! Those are memories you will always treasure!

The winner in life is not the one who dies with the most toys...
it's the one who dies with the most, best memories.


You're off to a good start!
Bob
 
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