Chilao Campgrounds

July 29, 2006 Chilao

I went camping once again, this time with Tom Finley, a coworker of mine. It was just the two of us, and it was a fairly quiet experience. We did throw the football around for a short time, untill my shoulder started to hurt. I haven't thrown one in about 17yrs.

There wasn't a major bug problem, and the weather was nice, but it did get a bit overcast later in the afternoon. There were some low-flying clouds that passed through the campsite, and they totally obscured the mountains on the otherside of the valley. Check out the photo down a few spots.

The spot we had was nice and large. It was designated as a double spot, meaning there was room for two groups, but since the campgrounds are first-come, first-serve, we snagged it. Besides, there was only one fire ring, so I don't see how two groups could have camped at the same time, unless the fire ring was shared.

We did notice a few "gorilla campers" as I like to refer to them. These are basically people that are too cheap to spring for the $12 camping fee. It's a real shame too, as these funds go towards upkeep of the roads, piped-in water, bathrooms, trash, etc. I also don't understand why people would want to set-up camp when it is dark, only to break-down camp at the crack of dawn and leave before they are caught.

Come on people, it's only $12! You probably spend that or more during the week on your fancy Starbucks coffee and high and mighty lunch salads. Commune with nature, all it costs is a bit of your time and twelve freaking dollars.

July 22, 2006 Chilao

I this weekend I took my younger son Clark. He's 3 and a half years old. We went camping at Chilao in the Angeles National Forest, but at a different location, more in the flat plains. I didn't want him falling off some mountian. I'm sure you can understand that.

We arrived early in the day, around 8am. He had a blast running around and exploring. We would go on short hikes, and he ran most of the time. Clark did find a few "broken" animals as he refers to them. He relates anything dead as being "broken". Must be due to me throwing away all the toys that he breaks. He knows if something is broken, then it goes in the trash and is never seen again.

The first time he used this term was during The Lion King, where Mufasa saves Simba from the stampeding wildebeest. Mufasa is laying there, not moving, and Simba approaches, trying to wake his father up. Clark was staring at the tv and says, "Uh-oh, lion broken." He said it so matter of factly, that it took me by surprise. I did confirm that yes, in fact the lion was broken. I found it rather interesting to see such eloquent use of the word.

Clark managed to find a "broken" lizard and kangaroo mouse, both victims of passing cars during the middle of the night. I had to laugh at the lizard coment, it was ground into the pavement. "Yes Clark, that lizard is broken real bad."

About mid-day an old friend Larry Kiliszewski showed-up with his 3yr old, Taylor. I broke out a small inflatable pool and filled it with water (thanks to that $12 camping fee) from a nearby faucet. The two kids played in that on-and-off the rest of the day. We did some light hiking, maybe 100yds at a time. We even played around with a big yellow ball, and drew pictures in the sand with a stick.

Around 5pm Larry decided to take Taylor home, as Larry wasn't prepared to spend the night camping. He made mental notes of what to bring next time, and we are planning to go camping in the near future. Hopefully the weather holds out for another month or so, as I think it would be nice to go camping when it is a little cooler for the kids. We saw the two of them off, then I took Clark for another hike.

For the entire day I had been trying to tire-out Clark, and our last hike was the straw that broke the camel's back. On the way back Clark was begging me to carry him, and I obliged. I picked him up, and after taking only 5 or so steps I heard snoring coming from Clark. He must have been so exhausted, he fell asleep almost instantly. I returned to camp, and put him in the tent. I let him sleep for a couple of hours, waited till dark and started-up the fire. For dinner I cooked hot dogs, and woke him up. He ate and went right back to sleep.

During the night it became very cloudy and windy, and it started to drizzle. I say drizzle, but Californians would call it "rain". Coming from Florida, if you can only see across the street or about 30yds, then THAT's rain. In California, if a drop hits your windshield more than once an hour, they call this rain. Quick, send out the news crews in their rain gear and slickers! It's Storm Watch 2006!

We woke up the next morning and took a last hike around the campgrounds then packed everything up. I had to get him home by 9am so Cindy could take him to Sunday School. As soon as he was in the car he fell alseep again, and didn't wake-up until we got home (about 1 hour). When he came home from school around 3pm, he fell asleep again and slept till 7pm. He must have been really exhausted from the camping trip. I can't wait to take him again.

He was definately having a good time, and I'm glad that he likes the great outdoors.