GypsySilver
Well-known member
simply beautiful landscapes - again TY for sharing. I always look forward to your photos.
Van-Tramp adventures 2014 (part 2)
- Thread starter Van-Tramp
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Van-Tramp
Well-known member
Just North of Bishop, CA and only a half mile off Hwy 395 is Pleasant Valley Pit Campground operated by the Bishop BLM. Even though there is a $2 per night cost (60-day limit), it is so low that even this penny-pincher considers it “free”. It is – literally – a pit in the desert with camping sites on two different levels; both in the pit and atop.
Google Map 37.401204, -118.508759
Roughly 80 sites are sprinkled into the 1 square kilometer campground. To put that into perspective, each site gives just enough room for a Subaru wagon and a tent and little more. There are some larger sites, but they are few, and mainly on the top ring of sites.
When I visited about 50-60 sites were occupied giving it a vibe more of a hippy get-together than anything. With no trees and all the sites so closely packed in, privacy simply does not exist. You are left with no choice but to get to know your neighbors. Whether or not that is a good thing I leave to you.
Google Map 37.401204, -118.508759
Roughly 80 sites are sprinkled into the 1 square kilometer campground. To put that into perspective, each site gives just enough room for a Subaru wagon and a tent and little more. There are some larger sites, but they are few, and mainly on the top ring of sites.
When I visited about 50-60 sites were occupied giving it a vibe more of a hippy get-together than anything. With no trees and all the sites so closely packed in, privacy simply does not exist. You are left with no choice but to get to know your neighbors. Whether or not that is a good thing I leave to you.
Van-Tramp
Well-known member
Treasure Island
http://www.van-tramp.com/wp/treasure-island/
An invitation from my Nephew to hang out and boondock on Treasure Island for a few days had to be accepted. Honestly, even though I lived in the SF Bay Area for 37 years, not once did I take the Treasure Island exit – so it was a mini adventure right under my nose.
Treasure Island is a man-made island in the San Francisco Bay built 1936-1937 for the 1939 Golden Gate International Expo. In the 1940’s the Navy began using the island as a Naval Station which closed in 1997. Currently is being re-developed and reborn both with housing and restaurants but much of the island is a ghost town of enormous warehouses leased by the City of San Francisco to artists, wineries, and other businesses for storage.
I spent a few nights camping near the warehouse in which my Nephew rents space. Moose and I were invited to a Thanksgiving dinner within the 40,000 square foot warehouse with the other renters an their family. We also took the time to roam around a bit to photograph the skylines and interesting things on the island.
More pics at http://www.van-tramp.com/wp/treasure-island/
http://www.van-tramp.com/wp/treasure-island/
An invitation from my Nephew to hang out and boondock on Treasure Island for a few days had to be accepted. Honestly, even though I lived in the SF Bay Area for 37 years, not once did I take the Treasure Island exit – so it was a mini adventure right under my nose.
Treasure Island is a man-made island in the San Francisco Bay built 1936-1937 for the 1939 Golden Gate International Expo. In the 1940’s the Navy began using the island as a Naval Station which closed in 1997. Currently is being re-developed and reborn both with housing and restaurants but much of the island is a ghost town of enormous warehouses leased by the City of San Francisco to artists, wineries, and other businesses for storage.
I spent a few nights camping near the warehouse in which my Nephew rents space. Moose and I were invited to a Thanksgiving dinner within the 40,000 square foot warehouse with the other renters an their family. We also took the time to roam around a bit to photograph the skylines and interesting things on the island.
More pics at http://www.van-tramp.com/wp/treasure-island/
Van-Tramp
Well-known member
Mount Diablo State Park
http://www.van-tramp.com/wp/mount-diablo-state-park/
Being born and raised in the Bay Area, Mount Diablo was the mountain in which all others were compared as a kid. I remember my Mother bringing us kids up to the peak when we were younger. The thought of being nearly 4,000 feet above the majority of all other Californian’s was an amazing concept (officially 3,864 feet at the peak). With Timmy an Imelda out for the holiday week, we took the time to drive up Mount Diablo for the afternoon.
Although the park boasts few “features” to excite the average person, the park has many miles of trail to hike or horseback. In fact, it is so popular among the local bicyclists that the very tight and twisty road is often clogged to the point that it takes hours to navigate the 7 miles to the peak. If visited on those rare days in California when the smog is low, the view stretches from the Pacific Ocean, through all of the valley, and all the way to the Sierra Mountains.
http://www.van-tramp.com/wp/mount-diablo-state-park/
Being born and raised in the Bay Area, Mount Diablo was the mountain in which all others were compared as a kid. I remember my Mother bringing us kids up to the peak when we were younger. The thought of being nearly 4,000 feet above the majority of all other Californian’s was an amazing concept (officially 3,864 feet at the peak). With Timmy an Imelda out for the holiday week, we took the time to drive up Mount Diablo for the afternoon.
Although the park boasts few “features” to excite the average person, the park has many miles of trail to hike or horseback. In fact, it is so popular among the local bicyclists that the very tight and twisty road is often clogged to the point that it takes hours to navigate the 7 miles to the peak. If visited on those rare days in California when the smog is low, the view stretches from the Pacific Ocean, through all of the valley, and all the way to the Sierra Mountains.
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