On Tuesday we were just outside of Nevada City and Grass Valley at (Henry) Rollins Lake…a campground called Peninsula Camping & Boating Resort. Pretty campground, no hookups, and a high of about 97 degrees in the afternoon. We stayed two nights, and were thinking of staying a third, when we realized we'd made no plans for the upcoming fourth of July weekend.
I did a little research and found a campground at Lake Almanor (just south of Lassen Volcanic National Park) that was a no reservations, first-come first-served campground. No hookups at all, but from the satellite view on Google maps, we could see some RV roofs, so maybe we could get lucky with a bit of a sunny spot so our solar could keep our batteries charged.
We left around 11am on Tuesday (with our battery charge down to 67% after several days with no hookups) and headed to Lake Almanor, thinking we'd be able to beat some of the crowds to get a spot through the weekend. We were in need of some flat driving after all the twisty, hilly roads we've been driving lately, so we took the route through Oroville and Chico (and the Man) and saw the temperature get up to about 103. We called a couple of AT&T stores along our route to see if any of 'em had the new iPhone 4 (thinking about recreating our experience of getting the new 3GS the day they came out when we were in Seward, Alaska) but no luck.
When we got here (Rocky Point Campground, west side of Lake Almanor) both loops were full. The nice lady in the booth asked "Are you looking for a camping spot?" We answered yes, and she told us to follow the little couple in the golf cart to the overflow area. They led us through the campground filled with forested spots on and off the water, to a small sandy stretch of beach with about five spots right smack on the water. Right smack in the sun. Turns out they just opened the overflow about 10 minutes before we arrived, and we were the second ones here. I think if we had our pick of the whole campground, we'd have chosen this exact spot.
This morning we made two rounds of cappuccinos with the Nespresso maker, used the microwave to heat tortillas for our breakfast, and we're up to 84% battery charge, pulling in 19.5 amps of solar at 10am.
"Lake Almanor was constructed by Great Western Power Company in 1914. The name Almanor was originated by combining the names of three sisters, Alice, Martha, and Elinor, daughters of Guy C. Earl, vice president of Great Western Power Company. Great Western Power Company later became Pacific Gas and Electric, who developed Lake Almanor further, constructing the present dam in 1926-27. The Lake now stores 1.3 Million acre feet of beautiful blue water and incredible scenery."
(Posted by Laura)
