Eastern Sierras - First Trip w our Scamp

[JenSho]

We are on the road headed to the Eastern Sierras. Not sure where we will camp. There's a film festival in Lone Pine so it may be filled up. We will need a spot with hookups since it will be in the mid-30's at night and we didn't get any backup power. First time out with our 9.5 mo baby so we will have lots to report.

Preparation included installing a new Atwood heater and thermostat, break controller on the FJ cruiser, selling the rack off the FJ to reduce weight (no longer need it store camping gear), food prep and menu to make cooing easy, and fitting some baby gear.

We stopped for lunch at Primo burger in Mojave to load up on grease, sugar and carbs with burgers, fries and shakes. Our cheapie Cosco highchair from Walmart fits perfect in the galley aisle.

[Steve & Terri]

We have that Hwy-395 route planned out but yet to drive it, maybe next summer. You're probably already at Lone Pine, but here's an RV park with hookups if you haven't arrived yet: Boulder Creek RV Resort (Lone Pine, CA) - Campground Reviews - TripAdvisor

Late in the year for a festival, luck no snow yet, grin

[JenSho]

Made it to Bishop, although it was a push for the baby. Stayed at the Highlands RV Park which was ok for an RV Park, I suppose. We now know we are not fans of RV Parks except the electricity and water was nice. We love Bishop but the drawback to the park was being surrounded by block walls, trees and those other monster vehicles we could barely see the Sierras

So we went and bought a generator today. Still want to get solar panels but this will also work when we camp in the pines or a cloudy day. We then pulled out and headed to the volcanic tablelands just north of Bishop. We found a nice spot off Casa Diablo not far from Sky Rock. Looks like there's more petroglyphs down the road which we had not yet discovered. We will have to take a hike tomorrow since the road is closed to through traffic.

This is more like it

[JenSho]

Stayed 3 nights out in the volcanic table lands. Had to pickup some water at Kmart. Seems as though our 12 gallon tank only takes 10 gallons ??? Not sure about that. The genny we picked up works nicely. We were able to recharge in a little over an hour. We ran the battery down about 70% or so. It was warm and toasty in the egg. Kind of felt sorry for all the folks who were pulled over on the side of the road sleeping especially when we were warm inside drinking French press coffee :?

On Monday, Oct 14 th headed to Lone Pine. Saw another Scamp across the 395 around Aberdeen before we hit Indepenence around 12:15 pm. Hello there

Stayed in the Alabama Hills. This was a wonderful place to camp. Off the grid but free and plenty of great spots in between famous rocks. We just missed the film festival. We only stayed one night as we needed to dump and I need a real shower.

Next trip we will be getting a solar panel, replacing the lights with LEDs, a new hose for the sewage line and a foam mattress pad.

We had a wonderful time.

[Mike Magee]

See? You don't need no stinkin' hookups!

Looks like some peaceful, scenic camping.

I really like my Rhinoflex sewer hose; it seems pretty sturdy. My 75W (unmounted) solar panel and Morningstar controller cost about $125 and seem to keep the battery charged up.

[JenSho]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

See? You don't need no stinkin' hookups!

Looks like some peaceful, scenic camping.

I really like my Rhinoflex sewer hose; it seems pretty sturdy. My 75W (unmounted) solar panel and Morningstar controller cost about $125 and seem to keep the battery charged up.

Is this the sewer hose you have Mike Magee? RhinoFLEX Swivel RV Sewer Kit - Camco 39761 - Sewer Hoses - Camping World

[Otters]

Hi Jennifer. Glad you are having such a wonderful trip. I agree that the camping experience is much more pleasant in campgrounds vs RV Parks. I installed a solar panel, and it keeps my battery charged constantly (even on cloudy days) here in CA. Its probably best that you missed the western film festival. They are completely booked up that week. Even the Alabama Hills campgrounds. And the RV parks are booked a year+ in advance. Its a lot of fun though, so plan to do it some time in the future. If you're heading farther south, Joshua Tree National Park is really a wonderful place to camp too.