Lake Camanche 2013


Saturday, February 16, 2013, about 1000 PST, Lake Camanche Park, CA

130216_Lake_Camanche_overall_map_0576.jpgSandy's family set up a camping trip on short notice. The chosen campground was the Lake Camanche Recreation Area. This is a man made lake about 20 miles east of Lodi CA. We left the LA area just after noon on Friday and drove up highway 99 to get here, arriving about an hour and a half after dark. We took the Volt and burned 8.4 gallons of gas for the 380 mile trip for 45 mpg.

The main attraction here is fishing in the lake. There are some pretty big bass out there.


130216_Lake_Camanche_north_shore_map_0577.jpgMany of the family are staying in a group campground right at the end of the peninsula toward the left side of the map. Sandy and I, Grandpa Charlie, Betty and her kids elected to rent a "cottage" located at the very right side of the map (circled). We had a hard time finding it in the dark as the road markings and the map do not completely agree.


130216_Lake_Camanche_sandy_in_cottage_kitchen_0570.jpgThe cottage itself is basically a double wide manufactured housing unit. Sandy is doing homework in the kitchen. There is a master bedroom to the left and 3 more bedrooms to the right. Each bedroom can sleep two and there are two couches. There are a total of 3 bathrooms as the unit can be divided into three sub units. Each unit has heat and A/C, a refrigerator, a TV and a microwave oven. The kitchen's refrigerator is full sized, the others are minifridges.

It is a little too far to walk between the campground and the cottage. Even driving it at the 25 mph posted speeds takes about 5 minutes.


130216_Lake_Camanche_cottage_view_from_porch_0573.jpgThis is the view from the corner of the porch through the trees behind the unit down to the lake. We can barely make out the boat launch ramp.


130216_Lake_Camanche_cottage_porch_0575.jpgThe porch wraps around two sides of the unit. The picture is facing the other way, back toward the street.


130216_Lake_Camanche_cousin_s_camp_0569.jpgWe drove down to the campground to find some of Sandy's family. This is one of the campsites. The small motorhome belongs to Becky and Terry, Sandy's sister and brother in law. The camper belongs to Jim and Cindy, Sandy's cousins. Sandy's aunt and uncle, Joan and Jim, are coming later today.


Saturday, February 16, 2013, about 2000 PST, Lake Camanche, CA

130216_Lake_Camanche_boat_dock_IMG_0029.jpgA little later in the day, I took a short hike behind our unit down toward the lake. There was indeed the boat launch ramp and dock there although it doesn't appear to be getting a lot of use right now.

Dinner was over at the campsite at about 17:30, just before sundown. I took a lot of food over but I found that the folks there had cooked enough for a small army. We just ate what they had, barbecue chicken, pasta salads, green salads, bread, rolls, and red beans and rice. There was plenty to go around.

I met in-law relations that I didn't know I had or hadn't seen in years. Most were Sandy's cousins, or spouses of cousins and a plethora of nieces and nephews.

By 19:30, it was getting pretty cold and Sandy wanted to come back to the cottages. The whole group of us came back except Sandy's sister Joan. I think that she is going to stay with them and drink. The rest of us are all staring at tablets or computers except Rachael who is reading a real book (The Hobbit).

The plan is to sleep in in the morning, get breakfast and then figure out what to do for the balance of the day.



Sunday, February 17, 2013, about 1000 PST, Lake Camanche, CA

130217_Lake_Camanche_geese_0578.jpgSandy and I went out for an after breakfast walk down to the lake then across the boat ramp to the entrance station, then back to the store at the boat ramp, then back to the unit. The whole loop was about 1.5 miles. Along the way, we encountered a bunch of geese. Yesterday, I had to stop the car and wait for about a dozen wild turkeys crossing the road. There is wildlife all around here.

I found out the plan for the day. Sandy is doing here homework most of the day.


Monday, February 19, 2013, about 18:30 PST, Torrance, CA

About mid afternoon on Sunday, we had visitors at the cottage. Joan (Sandy's aunt) and Joan (Sandy's sister) came by to visit from the campground. We gathered the crew up and drove back to the campground to visit with the extended family until about sundown. We then came back to the cottage to get dinner and spend a quiet evening.

Today, Monday, is a travel day. After getting breakfast at the cottage, we rousted the troops and packed up. We did have a minor problem with a lost room key, but after checking with the office, I found out that somebody and found the key and turned it in. We were in the clear. Everybody was out of there before 1000, and we were on our way. Our long drive back to Torrance was uneventful, we got here at about 1700. I expected really bad traffic, but it was only slow on the 405 from a little north of the Santa Monica Freeway to about Slauson. Then it cleared up again all the way home.

We caught Inti, our cat, napping upstairs on our bed. She didn't seem to be terribly upset but she did want to go outside.


This page has been accessedhit counter times since Feb 16, 2013


© 2012 George Schreyer
Created Feb 16, 2013
Last Updated February 19, 2013