Hello,

I was wondering why there are not any Nor. California rallies or get togethers. I just got a little Fiberglass trailer called a Space Master, looks like a spaceship with a popup tent on it. Pretty cool. Anyway looking for other like minded fiberglass campers out there to maybe get together on a camp anywhere in Nor Cal. Anytime is good for me.

Thanks
Rick
Lincoln, CA

There are several Oregon gatherings during the year, the biggest being at Bandon, if you want to drive that far (500 miles)

The Oregon/Washington gatherings are noteworthy for their lack of organization. Some one just posts, "Let's get together at a certain park on a certain weekend," and before long there are several, dozens, or scores of persons signing up. You could start a tradition in "Northern California."

BTW: I can never understand why Californians call the Sacramento - San Francisco area "Northern California," when they obviously are in "Central California," and the Redding - Eureka area being "Northern California."

Ellen and Berry B. been thinking about getting something started in the Northern California area, they live in Eureka .... there... now there's three people. And I know Bob and Judy W. would go too. Now you're up to five!

you could also start your own!

Thats exactly what I did after i got my first 13 footer. I threw a Rally in So. Cal and thats actually how I met many folks that became close personal freinds.. not just "The trailer people" I hang out with.

Try it!

I'm south of the place on 99 said to be the middle of the state but I would like to see pictures of your Space Master as I've never heard of one.

Bobbie

Bobbie, Rick's post where he tells about his purchase here-ricks post a few post down from OP what we know as a Mity Lite
Plus if you look in the Sold archives you will see the sale ad with pics.


Isn't mid-state like around the Paso Robles area? I agree, that Sac/bay area seems a little south to be called Northern, but I know that it's referred to as Northern Calif. I remember thinking as a kid that the true north end of CA was forgotten, cause there is so much beyond what is deemed Northern that is within State lines.

Roger,
Well, to answer the No./So. California question, it's because we don't tend to segement the state into multi sections just No. and So.

The only people that call the central portion central is the TV folks. I'm from Monterey county and was always in Northern CA until the TV folks started calling it Central CA.


But the basic premise is:

LA is southern CA and anything north of there is Northern CA. And I'll stick to it until my dying day.


Rick,

On topic, why don't you start a rally? All you need to do is pick a place, not on holidays, hopefully not on weekends as it's hard to get into most places on weekends. If you do pick a weekend make sure we can make reservations, not a first come first served place. There is no need to make it a big deal just a simple get together.

I've held a rally at Dillon Beach north of Point Reyes for a number of years. I haven't advertised it on this site because I really didn't want it to get too big. I post it on the Yahoo Scampers site. Any way, I have PM'd numerous people from this site and to date none have come. So I continue to post on the Yahoo site and even on that site people in CA are looking for rallies but don't ever come to Dillon. We can't figure it out and I've stopped trying to.

So just pick a place. I'll come if I can and I'll let my regulars at Dillon know.

LOL, Joy cause you live north of, growing up in Ojai I could swear we were in Southern. I guess I gotta remember I grew up as a blonde.

Well, you not that far north so you could be a southern if you want.

Also it's quiet likely that my memory goes back further than yours to the time when we wanted to split the state just south of SLO. So that does put you in the South.

I have been putting on Rallies in Central California for several years. Gina has been putting on Rallies in Southern California. No one has stepped up to organize and put together any in Northern California. Oh, I take that back Glen Gold put together a rally in Northern California in the sierras just north of I-80 if I remember correctly.

Joy is correct to a point. When I grew up in LA county, LA and everything south was Southern California. San Francisco and everything north was Northern California. There wasn't much more then farming in between. World War II era.

It seems the population & financial centers dictate what is what. I would say, as the state has grown up, it has evolved.

Now I live 200 miles south of San Francisco and 200 miles north of LA. The people here do NOT want to be part of either of those extremes. So locals call them selves Central Californians. My son lives in Discovery Bay, CA (half way between SF & Sacramento. He calls himself a person that lives in NorCal. Down in LA they are are SoCal. Now we are late to the Party, but locally for the last 5 years or so we have been called CenCal.

CenCal is basically from Salinas, CA east across the state and down to Santa Barbara, CA (plus or minus). Here near the ocean we are a subdivision of CenCal called the Central Coast. (I could go on but it becomes more political.)

Back to your regular programming...

Ummmmm, not anymore! Long ways away, though I have lived in the Southern, Middle and northern parts of Calif. Kinda east to in the Northern part of the state. Now I am east of by a few states. I don't remember them wanting to split the state. But figure that makes sense, since most people think the only towns in Calif are either La or San Fran. Hello, there is a big state in-between. One thing I have had to overcome when people find out I am from Calif is that even Calif has rural, mountain, quaint towns in-between.

You may want to do like the NOG... we move around. You could choose a place further north... to get the very northern Cal contingency, then next time choose something a little further south. Some folks will attend no matter where it is, others will join in when it's closer to home. You won't be able to please all the people all the time.

Works for us, may work for you as well.

Roger,

The current wisdom I got was that from the Tehachapees south is SoCal, Tehachapees to Monterey Bay is Central CA, and SF Bay north is Nor Cal. Definately geographic divisions, as well as cultural. Although, as a resident of Santa Cruz, born in Palo Alto, I have always considered myself a Northern Californian.

BTW, when you get up near Redding you are no longer in Ca - you have entered the State of Jefferson. This according to friends in Mount Shasta City.

You can always tell the difference between a northerner and southerner in CA by the way they refer to interstates. A northerner will tell you to 'take 101', a southerner will tell you to get on 'the 101'. It takes transplanted southern traffic reporters a couple of weeks to catch on, but they learn..(LOL)

As soon as I get the Stream back together Connie and I are interested - Seven.

Hubby and I would be interested joining a 'Northen California' rally. I could think of several campgrounds that would make a good meeting place. We're in the heart of Santa Clara Valley with our 2009 Casita.

Have never understood why we're refered to as 'Northen California'. To me Northern California starts 'north' of San Fransisco.

Wow what great replies. I got the whole NorCal SoCal CentralCal CentralCoastCal JeffersonStateCal and a couple other CALS all answered. Now we just need to know is it FRISCO or San Francisco? I know that will stir the pot with some of us out there.

Fun to hear from all of you. I think I will try and put something together in the next couple of months. I am out this weekend on the maiden voyage of my little SPACEMASTER. Funny story already. We my wife and I were asleep around 1:00am the bed fell in under us. I guess the table top that fits in there is a bit small and can move so in we drop to the middle. So I set it back up and wham one more time. About them is when I told my wife. Can you spell EBAY! She had a chuckle and I figured out that I needed to put the table at the bottom end of the bed and the other boards at the top. Wah lah, perfect bed. So EBAY has to wait.

I also forgot to put the jack stands down in the back of the trailer and unhooked it from the truck. So when we got it the back went down and so did we. I had to jump to the front real quick and bring it down, go set up the stands and once again we were good. LIVE AND LEARN yikes.

My wife seems to like the camper and she does not really like camping, so so far so good. The camp site I am at has internet (which is funny I think) but hey I am entertained at least. It is a place in Arnold by Calaveras State park (full this weekend) called Golden Pines. I would recommend it as a good spot to come to. Not great, but pretty good. Nice people, decent ammenities. Our site has power and water. We are hooked up to the power.

This camper is like a combination of a teardrop trailer and a westfalia volkswager camper and an egg camper. What a goofy kinda combo, but it is working for us so far. I will post pics when I get back.

You all were right about weekend camping in CA. Crazy to get a reservation. Especially weekends and holidays. The weekdays are hard for my wife as she is working. I am the lazy one out of us both.

Any suggestions for sites. I will also check out the scamp site on yahoo and maybe join up at Dillon Beach.

Thanks. We get the funny stares at our camper and many comments for sure. Lots of fun.

Rick,

As a native of the SF Bay Area (even went to Giants' games in Seal Stadium) I can uncatagorically state that only foreigners, out-of -staters and some ignorant Angelinos would ever say "Frisco" when referring to The City.

Don't get me wrong, some of my best friends are Angelinos...

, Very Much....

To us who live in Oregon, Northern California is like Redding north. Gina mentioned several great campgrounds near Dunnigan area that we have wanted to try but haven't. Ellen and Berry probably know of some great campgrounds further north. We just can't think of the San Francisco area as northern Cal. But if you plan a campout remember that snow comes early to areas near the border. We would be interested too if work doesn't get in the way.

Thanks for the response. Where do you think would be a good place for us Nor Cal group to camp? I don't know the camping scene very well, so I am open to suggestions. It would be fun to try something in Sept. Even if just a few of us show up that would be a good start. I suspect we should get a half dozen together based on some of the responses here.

Thanks

Hi all, I'm new to the site too. My wife and I just bought a 13' Scamp last week. I grew up in the little town of Valley Ford, just 7 miles from Dillon Beach. We're still in the SF bay area and we'd love to join you for a campout at Dillon Beach or somewhere else. Just spent our first weekend in the Scamp up on the Yuba River and it was awesome!!

**LA is southern CA and anything north of there is Northern CA. And I'll stick to it until my dying day.**

Joy - we are in Galt, and I agree. Southern Calif is THEIR side of the Grapevine.

Not sure where Northern Begins... Bakersfield SEEMS too far south. But B'field is not SO-Cal either.

Oh well.....

**'the 101'.***

As a Northern Californian, that drives me NUTS - "the" followed by f-way #.

Congrat's Wilder! I am sure you guys are gonna enjoy your new Scamp. But you need to also post your purchase in the general chat forum, so everyone can say welcome and congrats! Plus add some pic's. ( we never get tired of pic's of fiberglass)

I'm in suburban Sacramento with a 13' "USS Egg-terprise" and a Camry tow vehicle. I'm up for a weekend rally, just give me a couple weeks' notice. I'm also on the Yahoo Scampers list and really liked the Rio Vista suggestion--there are hookups there, as opposed to Dillons Beach. But Dillons is fine, too, although I haven't been there in probably 10 years.

if you were closer to Fresno you might get more So cals there. Not trying to add to the politics of what is south/north and central. I have lived in them all.

and San Diego is Baja LA

In looking at campgrounds I find many that have no hookups. What are the preferences for each of you. Does it have to have hookups or are you all up for dry camping. Most has showers and toilets, etc. but not hookups. Would that be ok or would everyone prefer hookups?

I am hoping to have something set up for the 3rd weekend in Sept. Still looking around for a spot. Any help would be great. I know the Dillon beach site is already been mentioned (nice scenary)and Rio Vista (more like a nice parking lot but has hookups etc) I am looking posibbly at Fallen Leaf at Tahoe. Never been there, but lots of space no hookups.

Generally, I prefer hookups. If we're dry camping, though, then any number of places are nice. Here's one I tried several years ago, not far from Auburn....
http://morningstar.icyspicy.com/
Fishing, pedal boats, swimming, etc.

OK here's a place that I found that looks and sounds good. It is a KOA with hookups. you don't have to be a koa member to use it. They have hook ups and should have space for us. I was shooting for Sept 18 and 19. You could go earlier if you like, but my wife can't get off work on Friday.

I called today and they said they should have space, but need to have a head count. If we have enough people, she may give us a discount, but I need to talk to someone else there. Here is the link. Weather hopefully will still be good maybe a bit cooler then now. Hopefully these dates will work for at least a half dozen of us. Nothing official I guess, just a place for some of us to get together.

http://www.laketahoekoa.com/index.php

I have not been here before, but hopefully it will be a good spot. Let me know if this sounds good and we can start calling and making reservations so they can keep the group together.

Thanks

Have a family wedding that weekend. Will look for the next gathering.

Have fun.

Joy, I just posted the Fall Gathering (not really an official gathering but sounds good) for Sept. 18 and 19 at http://www.laketahoekoa.com I hope you can make it and let your other friends know as well. everyone can make their own reservations, they are expecting the calls. I look forward to meeting you.

Rick-

I have been off line for about 6 weeks and just got my computer back today.

My husband and I have kicked around the idea of getting a Northern Ca gathering together for the past year or so but have not got around to nailing anything down. We live on the coast of Ca about an hour from the Oregon line. We have had thoughts about a gathering somewhere in the Redwoods maybe sometime next spring. How close are you to the Oregon line?

Ellen B.

Please Ellen, we hope you and Berry really do plan an event. We would love to camp in the redwoods.

HELP US SETTLE THE DEBATE.........So we can get on with planning a gathering.

In the past when Berry and I have discussed planning a gathering among the Redwoods we have always come back to a few issues we have not been able to settle. We need everyone's input on these issues. The big question is this.......should we find a spot that has hookups or is everyone willing to dry camp.

Many of our beautiful parks and campgrounds among the Redwoods have no hooksups. Some of these places have flush bathrooms others just have pit and most of these don't have showers. Many of these parks are located right in the Redwoods. There are other private campgrounds among the redwoods that offer hookups, showers, small stores on site, etc... Of course the private campgrounds (most more like RV parks) cost more a night to stay at than our state parks but they offer more. We have talked to some of the private campground owners and some would be willing to give us a little discount if we can fill say 10 or more sites and they would be willing to block a group of sites together for a short period of time so our group could make reservations and camp close together. Two really nice private campgrounds that we looked at that have hookups are located in a big grassy field right on the Klamath river. One has no spot for campfires but does have a nice BBQ gathering area the other one would provide us with one big campfire ring kind of in the middle of the camping area but no campfires would be allowed in our sites.

The next issue Berry and I have mulled over and over is what time of the year to have this. Spring weather is all over the map for this area. We can get a beautiful day and the next 3 days it could rain and freeze over night or it could be visa-versa. It's very up and down. Summer for us on the coast usually means some fog in the mornings and night or it could mean fog all day if it is really hot inland which happens for weeks at a time sometimes. About now through October sometimes even into November and December can bring us some beautiful days but starts getting cooler at night and we often get mist in the morning and night. When I say beautiful days I mean more like Bandon. 80 degrees is hot for us and 45-50 degrees is not uncommon at night. Many campgrounds we talked with also pointed out to us that in Sept many of our campgrounds are close to or are full due to Salmon fisherman. Now this year we only had a 10 day season so we could have still worked around that but some years Salmon season is much longer.

The other thing that came up is how big of a place would we need, which would depend on how many people would be interested in coming to a gathering in the Redwoods. We found a beautiful campground but it can only hold about 20-25 campers all with hookups. There is another spot we found that could allow up to 166 trailers some with hookups some without. We also have a Ranger of a State Park as one of our members here that could maybe fix us up real nice in one of our most beautiful and popular State Parks in the heart of the Redwoods, but it is a park with no hookups.

So everyone think about the following and chime in on what you think.
Hookups vs drycamping?????
How many would be interested in a Redwoods gathering????
What time of the year should we do this??????? Berry and I have leaning towards Sept/Oct but don't want to plan it to close to the fall NOG.

Your input is needed so we can stop just talking about this and start doing something to get this together for next year.

Ellen B.

Dry camping is fine with me! Which "Redwoods" are you thinking about?

October can still be very nice, and if there's a little rain who cares we're not in a tent anymore

Redwoods of Northern California on the coast near the Oregon line is where we are trying to get a gathering together.

We dry camp a lot so we are fine. The week before the NOG would work for us. It would also allow those heading north to just keep going up to the NOG. After the NOG we have to get back to working on weekends until mid Nov. But Spring can be beautiful too, its just too far away to know our schedual yet. Who needs poer when you have dutch ovens to cook in?

We would be in next year as well.

**Right now** I am still tethered due to a CPAP, but we are working on a way to untether... a deep cycle battery + a Honda 2000i for recharging and we will be good to go!

We have friends who moved to Arcadia, CA for a few years and did visit them once up there. LOVED the trip up 101 thru the redwoods and absolutely will return for camping.

We plan to hit Bandon next year as well.


So... consider us IN when sizing a campground.

Ellen,

You can run into the NOG whether Spring or Fall. I wouldn't worry it just pick a time and hope those from CA that don't ever attend the NOG would come.

Are you talkiing the Redwoods between Eureka and CC or the Redwoods below Eureka??

I'll do dry camping or hookups. I just don't like $30 to $50 a night Also some might hesitate because it's a long way up there and gas is costly so try to keep the campsite cost down.

Lily and I'll come if it doesn't conflict with my annual golf tournament the first week of October. Any thing else I should be able to rearrange, postpone or cancel.

Hey, put it out there and see how many you get.

Joy-

So far we have only checked on places to camp between Eureka and Crescent City and thought we might try that first. When Berry & I started talking about this last year we thought we might try 1 year North of Eureka and the following year try South of Eureka and try to switch off every other year and maybe move around like Donna does with the NOG. Right now we are just in the thinking/planning stages and want as much input as possible.

I also agree with you about keeping the cost down. Most private campgrounds we found start around $35.00 a night with a 10-15% discount for large groups. We have also been watching to see what State Parks old Arnold is going to take from us. I did see on the news fees for the CA State Parks that will remain open will be going up soon so by the time they get done we could be looking at $30.00 or more a night for State Parks with no hookups. We are just watching, waiting and taking in feedback as of right now.

Thanks and keep the feedback coming.

Ellen B.

At first blush, you could say... heck for 5 bucks extra take the hookups. BUT there is also a different ambiance in a state park to a more organized campground. Just feels.... better. More like camping, i suppose.

Michele and I are good either way. We will probably extend on one end or the other (or BOTH!) and explore that part of the state more fully.

as someone who lives in Arcata, ca. full time. I would suggest a fall camp rather than a spring if its north of eureka on the coast. The weather is a little more predictable here in the fall than the spring. The weather is the best here during September or early October. If you camp farther south, Standish hickey, Richardson's grove, avenue of the giants etc, the best time for those is in the spring. It gets hot fast the farther you go inland or south on the 101. Also for the doggies the spring is best because of the green blue algae we get in the late summer/fall on the eel river and van duzen. Its poisonous to dogs and will kill them if they drink the water, happens every year the water level is low . If you need any help or specific info feel free to ask. I have lived in this area my whole life and have most likely camped at all of the places that would suit a larger group. We would love to take our little litehouse out for a camp to see some other little fiberglass trailers. My vote would be for a state park or a spot with no hookups Cheap and you get the feel of "camping" Hope the gathering works out.
curt

P.S. I would really like to see that mity lite of yours... I want one so bad!

It is not just that hook ups are only 10 dollars more a night but some of the best campgrounds in the heart of the Redwoods have no hook ups so it is camp there with no hook ups or go somewhere else. But they do have reservable sites. That to me is more important than hook ups. No one wants to drive to a campout and find the campground full or that the only spaces are way out in the boonies from the group.

Curtis-

Good point about the blue-green algae. Even though I am aware of that problem, I did not take that into consideration. Had no idea we had a Northern Lite in Arcata. We like in Eureka. We would also like to see the mighty lite. Hopefully we can plan something for next year for all of us to get together.

So far it is sounding like hookups are not as important to others as I would have thought.
Linda-

We will make sure that the spot we pick will let us make reservations. That is just a must in my book. Hookups and showers are nice but we, like you guys, can go either way.

Thanks and keep posting your 2 cents worth.

Ellen B.

i agree about the hook ups not so important, but reservations a must. Keep the planning coming we might be able to make it way up there!

On my way to Bandon for the gathering in July I stayed at an RV park - Hiouchi - just 4 miles north and 5 miles east of Crescent City. It was a large beautiful grassy site with hookups. I don't think it was too expensive considering State Parks are probably $30 now. One of the state parks was adjacent to this RV park.

Ellen, Dry camping is good for me, I don't have a toilet. I can live off the power on my battery for a weekend so no probs there. It is nice to have power, but not essential. I will go either way.

Somewhere in Nor Cal redwoods would be great. I don't like the parking lot set ups like side by side like the big coaches go to. But set it up and hopefully I can come. So far on the Fall Get Together we have 6 now coming including myself. Not bad, but I hope to have a few more join us. I think Alan or Earl was mentioning this is a good start and maybe we can continue what was started there to the spring one for next year, or even a Winter Camp somewhere. (My heater works ok, but not sure for how cold.

Rick-

You are off to a great start and it should be lots of fun. I wish we could attend but my husband has to have minor surgery this week on his wrist and will have to take it easy for a week or two after that. Hopefully we can catch the next one.

As far as a gathering in the Redwoods we are hoping to have one. We are kind of waiting to see what the state is going to do with out State Parks. We have a wonderful State Park in mind but want to make sure it is not on the list to be closed. We also are watching to see how much they are going to increase the camping fees per night. I just got an email this morning asking for my comments to the proposed fee increase. We don't mind a small increase but the $15-$40 increase a night they are talking about is too much in our book. We also are like you, don't care for the parking lot style of camping either and want find a place that is more like a campground than a parking lot with hookups.

Good luck on your gathering and we will be working on getting something together around the Redwoods.

Ellen B.

Ellen, I'm back in the area now - Blue Lake - towing a Scamp 16'FB and would definitely be interested in a No. Cal. gathering. I think it's a great idea. Fall would be good - just plan for cool nights! Dry camping is fine for a 2-3 day weekend. I was in Boise Cr. Campground(near Willow Cr.) over Labor Day weekend and got a lot of lookers at the Scamp.

Lynn-

Welcome back to the area. Were you by chance up North of Orick this weekend, pulled over looking at a herd of Elk? On our way to Oregon on Friday we saw a 16' Scamp pulled over with a bunch of other people pulled over as well looking and taking pictures of the wildlife.
If you are in Eureka and have time stop by and see us sometime. My dad lives in the same place and we are right next door on the corner.

We will get a gathering together and will post it here for sure. If we don't see you soon we will hopefully see you at a Redwoods gathering in the future.

Ellen B.