First Trip Out In "THE BURRO"!

[Dave Mac]

F I N A L Y got THE BURRO up the hill and made camp!
Number one before ALL else THANKS MUCH to all those folks here that helped me along the way getting the old egg ready for the climb to camp! I REALLY APRECIATE all your answeres and suggestions to my questions. And please know that ALL of you helped as I have read almost everything on the site I think. SO you may not have wrote me in one of MY threads but I'v seen your posts in another and found much usefull information. Not the least of which is "How do you make coffee".


I used to use the French Press but it is such a pain to clean out and the wife also likes a different bean than I do. I learned the method in the picture from the thread and tried it out and it sure is easy and turned out pretty darn good.
We went from Fresno to Huntington Lake, Ca to a camp ground in the Sierras called Deer Creek. The site has been named one of the top 100 sites in the US or something (I need to look this up as there was a new plaque on the wall). Here's a shot (Not great) just before getting to the lake.



Deer Creek camp ground is like ON the lake. We stayed in 2 sites from Sunday to Wednesday last week. Here's the first.



Guess I should have cleaned up before taking pictures but... What you can't see in this picture is the horse trail that leads from the local "take the kids for an hour horse ride in the mountains" place right through the top of this site. It wasn't all that bad as we got to say hello to the riders as they passed by and the dust for the most part went the other direction. BUT the trail was right on top of us and they passed through going both direction maybe 3 times on Sunday and only once on Monday.
Anyway the camp ground has these "Premium" sites that are RIGHT on the lake and come Tuesday the wife went and asked about them. Turns out one was available for us from Tueday at 2:00 (Check out) to Wednesday at 2:00. So we grabed it and made a pretty nice move when the folks from Palm Springs left the site in their pop-up. They had come (as many had) 8 hours! to camp over the weekend at this lake. So here is site number 2



My feet are almost in the lake on this picture. It was great. Did not get a good picture from the other side of the Burro but took this picture from inside.



And one morning with that coffee and one of those Biscotti dipped in chocolate... yum...



And a nice drive....






Anyway there is more but suffice to say we had a GREAT time. We have been here before many times but this was the best. The Burro sure made it all diferent. No more tent for us.
Walking the lake side, Nice fires at night, good coffee in a nice warm trailer in the morning, Breakfast in camp on the lake, A drive, a walk, or a nice sit and do nothing...Fiberglass RVing....what a life.
Dave

[Dave Mac]

[Bigfoot Mike]

Boy that brings back memories. Its been at least 15 years sense we’ve camped there.

Thanks for the photos.

[Dave Mac]

Boy that brings back memories. Its been at least 15 years sense we’ve camped there.
Thanks for the photos.

Mike,
Where else did you camp in the area? Are you still close by? I'm hoping to get the Burro up to Portal Forbay and then all the way to Lake Thomas Edison and Florance lake. YOu got any secreat spots here you want to share?
Dave

[Bigfoot Mike]

Mike,
Where else did you camp in the area? Are you still close by? I'm hoping to get the Burro up to Portal Forbay and then all the way to Lake Thomas Edison and Florance lake. YOu got any secreat spots here you want to share?
Dave

Funny you should ask. I’ve been thinking a lot about Edison Lake. We use to camp on the far end several times. The fishing was great where the stream comes in.

The last time I camped at Huntington it snowed and I was in a tent. Beautiful place though.

We also have camped at Shaver Lake too. That one is not as primitive though. Its OK but not my first choice.

[Mary F]

What a nice read this a.m.!! Thanks, Dave.

Isn't it great when everything comes together and a good time is had by all! (Even those of us who are camping vicariously this summer!)

I really appreciated your report!

[Dave Mac]

Ok... just for fun.... here are my notes/list from the first trip out of items needed and other thoughts I wrote down while listening to the lake water lapping along the shore line.

Make water work (rebuild all water lines and pump and find out if existing sink faucet works)
Burro entry step (it's not much but a small step would certainly help)
Exterior entry carpet (Black Mats)
Shower (12volt pump from bucket to handheld shower?)
Small blow up mattress
Replace all wood hatch covers
2 Dish wash buckets rectangular 1 wash 1 rinse double as storage containers for trips. stackable
Bring the folding Coleman table
Bring collapsible lantern hanging hook post thing
Bring chain saw and less wood to save weight of tow vehicle
CO2/propane detector needed
Bike rack
Make tow vehicle lighter by removing Jeep hard top (how light is too light?)
Fix closet hanger rod and electrical boxes in closet
LED lights inside and out
LED floor night lights under lip below fridge and cabinet door under sink one 12 volt one 110
Bucket that fits little Weber grill and charcoal for storage and use at camp for fire water/shower
Install Burro dining table (missing leg) repair all
Plastic, forks, knives, spoons (used them all up)
Strike anywhere matches (water proof?)
Long reach lighters
Camp shovel/rake - foldable light weight
Inside/outside thermometer/digital clock with permanent on backlight ( I have a battery operated one that projects the time on the ceiling when transformer is plugged to 110 but only projects time on battery when you hit the button. Bet I can modify this…) http://www2.oregonscientific.com/shop/prod...d=2&pid=402



Screen room
Generator (some day)
Jeep gas can rack for trip to Edison Lake
Fix heater thermocouple!
Secure propane tanks from theft at home with chain and lock
Starbucks cold coffee Mocha Frapachino (I like one of these about 3:00)



Exterior propane hook-up for Coleman Stove
LEDs at hitch end and ball for easy night hookup using mirror on burro
First aid kit permanently in Burro with added meds
Mag light replacement bulbs
Mag light mounted in closet or back of cabinet door under sink
Fire gloves (A new pair of welding gloves that I use for camping their great to have)
Wash gloves and scrubbies for dishes
Chaise lounge chair or cot for napping outside

That's it so far....
Dave

[Dave Mac]

Funny you should ask. I’ve been thinking a lot about Edison Lake. We use to camp on the far end several times. The fishing was great where the stream comes in.

The last time I camped at Huntington it snowed and I was in a tent. Beautiful place though.

We also have camped at Shaver Lake too. That one is not as primitive though. Its OK but not my first choice.

Edison lake IS realy nice. I have been there maybe 5 times. Camped at the boat dock area each time. Once I got the nice spot across the street (dirt road) from the lake and dock camping area. Just me and DOG for 3 days. Have taken the wife once and my middle son once and once with my camping buddy Russ.

[Christi W]

This was SO fun to read. I remember our first trip out - last year. We were so nervous and it was so much fun.

We were as excited as you sounded. Reading your posts, we lived it all over again.

Thanks and happy trails!!

[Kevin A]

Wow! Your list of things to do next on your Burro almost exactly matched what we did when we got our 13' Burro about a year ago. Great minds think alike! The only thing we could add was more space. Because of that, we sold our Little Jennie and bought a 16' UHaul that is a kissing cousin of the Burro. More space and a bathroom/privacy room. Lots of fun!

[Bobbie Mayer]

Sounds great. How long did it take you to get to Huntington from Fresno, towing the Burro? I haven't been up there in a few years but have never towed anything up that hill (I'm thinking of the two-lane parts to Shaver, which I recall were the worst of the drive.)

Bobbie

[Dave Mac]

Sounds great. How long did it take you to get to Huntington from Fresno, towing the Burro? I haven't been up there in a few years but have never towed anything up that hill (I'm thinking of the two-lane parts to Shaver, which I recall were the worst of the drive.)
Bobbie

Yes the 2 lane was slow going. Towing with the Jeep I managed only 35 miles an hour for that part of the hall. But it was a steady climb. I will lighten the load next time. I always bring fire wood with me because I have access to it working for a home builder. I layed one layer of 4x4s cut to about 24inches in the back of the Jeep and then stacked camping supplies on top of that. also one large container (2x3) filled with kindling. as mentioned in my list I will just bring the chain saw next time. I did not time myself to Huntington but it realy did not take me any longer then usual other than the 2 lane and a couple other areas between Shaver and Huntington. The trip back was no problem but again just took my time. My Jeep is a 93 6 cylinder fuel injected. I would love to have a nice little toyota truck at this point ....some day....
Dave

[Dave Mac]

Wow! Your list of things to do next on your Burro almost exactly matched what we did when we got our 13' Burro about a year ago. Great minds think alike! The only thing we could add was more space. Because of that, we sold our Little Jennie and bought a 16' UHaul that is a kissing cousin of the Burro. More space and a bathroom/privacy room. Lots of fun!

More space would be nice. but I always wanted something small because of the type of camping I like to do. Boondocking way up in the Sierras. If you've ever been up Kiaser Pass you'd know why I'm thinking small.



Draw a squigly line with a bunch of switchbacks and blind curves and that's Kiaser pass for 2 hours of driving at about 25mph.
I'm very glad to be out of a tent at this point. The list does not include the interior work I have not done yet. I need to install flooring for one. I like the look of the wood floors I have seen I assume they are a vinyl. I also have torn off the carpet piece that runs over the ceiling seam. I need to figure out what to do here. And we bought curtains off the shelf that need to be shortened and hung correctly. The cusions are also a problem as they are the originals. Plenty of work to do.
Dave

[Dave Mac]

Wow! Your list of things to do next on your Burro almost exactly matched what we did when we got our 13' Burro about a year ago. Great minds think alike! The only thing we could add was more space. Because of that, we sold our Little Jennie and bought a 16' UHaul that is a kissing cousin of the Burro. More space and a bathroom/privacy room. Lots of fun!

Where do you guys camp by the way? I grew up in Crystal Lake Norht of you. Used to camp as a kid on a realy small creek about a miles walk back in the corn and soy bean feilds near our house. In high School we went to Devils Lake a couple times and camped and went SCUBA diving there. My brother lives in Decalb.
Dave