Date: Thu, 19 May 2005 21:57:37 -0700
Reply-To: BA <ande@SAN.RR.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: BA <ande@SAN.RR.COM>
Subject: Vanagon List's Top 10 Camping Sites
In-Reply-To: <E3C23535-439D-4CE0-B0D4-CF982C4DE07A@pottsfamily.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
In no particular order, since we haven't been van-camping long enough
to have ten favorites. We're getting there, though ...
Patagonia Lake State Park, AZ. Lovely area - we were there over
Christmas week. Lots of stuff to walk around and see. There's even a
small store in the park, which is very convenient.
Gilbert Ray campground, outside Tucson, AZ. It's a nice enough
(*shrug*) campground with some lovely views. What make it seriously
rock is that it is quite close to the wonderful Arizona Sonora Desert
Museum.
Table Mountain campground, Angeles National Forest, near Wrightwood,
LA. Well-spaced campsites, with a good view a short distance in any
direction from any site. Located a short way off the Angeles Crest
Highway, which itself is a visual wonder (and a *hugely* amazing
motorcycle ride!!!).
Dos Picos County Park, Ramona (near San Diego), CA. Sites are close,
with no visual privacy. But it's in a nice area with some good
hiking. And one of the 'kewl'er camp rangers put on a program Friday
evening during which he taught the younger campers some of those
nature songs that every kid should know ("Great big gobs of greasy,
grimey gopher guts ... ")
Dixon Lake, Escondido, CA. Get away from the big city in only a short
drive. Can opt for a lake-side site (pretend Escondido isn't there)
or a city-side view (look down on city lights, but far enough away to
evade city noise). (Simon adds ... but no showers!)
Agua Caliente County Park, CA. Sites are squished together, but it's
located in the middle of the Anza Borrego desert which is an amazing
place. And there's lots of hiking around the park. If you can do
without hookups, you might prefer Vallecito County Park which is a few
miles up the road. Amateur astronomers tend to flock to Vallecito.
Burnt Rancheria, Cleveland National Forest. Located along the Sunrise
Highway; nearest town is Mount Laguna. Wanna' look 7000 ft. downward
from piney-mountain to desert floor? Except, they closed for
remodeling at the end of last summer. And when we drove up there to
check them out in early April, they didnt' look "open" yet. But, the
reservations website shows them as available. *shrug*
Potrero County Park, CA. Sites aren't crammed close, though there's
not a lot of visual privacy. Its big advantages are the large
surrounding area (it's the community park for most of the east-county
area of San Diego), and its proximity to Tecate, Mexico. If you think
Tijuana is a big tourist trap, you're right. Tecate is still (for at
least a little while) a real Mexican town. And, you can park just
north of the border and walk a half-mile to the plaza in Tecate (to
avoid the need for Mexican car insurance ... do *not* drive into
Mexico without *Mexican* car insurance!!!).
B(&S)
'87 Westy 'Esmerelda Blanc'
SoCal
On Thu, 19 May 2005 17:32:04 -0400, you wrote:
>Great Idea Karl!
>
>Here are my personal Favorites, Letterman style.
>
>10. Valens Conservation Area. Great facilities, well kept grounds and
>the home of the True Canadian Winter Bus Campout.
>9. Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario. It's huge and (mostly)
>unspoiled.
>8. The Pinery Provincial Park, near Grand Bend Ontario. Great
>scenery, good facilities and staff.
>7. Heber Down Conservation Area, Brooklin, Ontario. Not for the
>facilities, but because it's the site of Buses Of The Corn. August
>5-7th, BTW.
>6. Harper's Ferry KOA in West Virginia. Home of "John Brown's Buses"
>in October.
>5. Rustic Knoll Campground, Near Mt. Vernon OH. Great facilities, and
>the home of the "Dixie Bus Gathering".
>4. Johnston's Canyon, near Banff AB. I haven't been there in 25
>years, but it was terrific in 1980.
>3. Hagan Stone Park, Pleasant Garden NC. Home of "EveryBus" since 1999.
>2. Haliburton Scout Reserve. Near Haliburton Ontario. Owned by the
>Toronto Region Scout Group, it's members only.
>1. Killbear Provincial Park, Parry Sound Ontario.
>
>
>Happy trails,
>
>Greg Potts
>Toronto, Ontario, Canada
>
>1973/74/79 Westfakia Conversion **Bob the Tomato** LY3H
>1977 Sunroof Automatic L63H/L90D
>1988 Vanagon GL 8-passenger Automatic
>http://www.pottsfamily.ca/westfakia
>http://www.busesofthecorn.com
>
>
>On 18-May-05, at 1:57 PM, Karl Wolz wrote:
>
>> Perhaps we should take a survey among our membership of OUR ten
>> favorite
>> spots. I'll assemble my list and submit it later on today.
>>
>> Karl Wolz
>>
>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
>>>
>> Behalf Of
>>
>>> Jim King
>>> Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2005 9:11 AM
>>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>>> Subject: Re: MSN's Top 10 Camping Sites
>>>
>>> Either that, or they're trying to direct the hoardes of other campers
>>>
>> as far from the
>>
>>> "REAL" 10 best campsites as possible!
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: Loren Busch <starwagen@GMAIL.COM>
>>> Date: Wednesday, May 18, 2005 11:40 am
>>> Subject: Re: MSN's Top 10 Camping Sites
>>>
>>>
>>>> I'd guess, from the other responses, that thes might be the '10 Best
>>>> To Avoid'. I've got a feeling that the people that responded to a
>>>>
>> MSN
>>
>>>> survey might not have the same expectations as the average list
>>>>
>> member
>>
>>>> on the Vanagon/Westfalia lists.
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>>
>>
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