Memorial Day 2007

Memorial Day Weekend 2007

Memorial day of 2007 found us having difficulties deciding where to to for our 3 day weekend. That holiday is usually reserved for camping in the Sierras, but we knew that we would be getting a bit of a late start on Friday, so we decided to go someplace closer. Although I had been to Lake Isabella as a kid, I had not been there for a number of years and Sandy had never been there. So, we made a reservation at a KOA Kampground just a little ways from the lake. In a word, the campground 'sucked'. We fought ants the entire time we were there and most of the folks who were camping there were party people. While there, we witnessed one heart attack and one broken leg - all of that in just 3 days!! There were a couple of bright spots however. The town of Kernville at the northern end of the lake, is a quaint little town with a few attractions for adventure seekers such as we are. As a bonus, they were having a small town style rodeo on Saturday and Sunday. This is a yearly event and well worth the trip, if you are into rodeos as are Sandy and I. Anyhow, here are a few pictures from that weekend.

I mentioned earlier that I had camped here as a kid. I believe that I was around 5 or 6 years old and this was my first camping trip. My parents borrowed some camping gear from some friends, the Harrolds, and off we went. The picture below is (I believe) the campspot where we camped that year. That would have been around 1962 or 63. I recognize that big boulder as the one where my brother and I played all day long. We had our dog, Stubby with us and we led him all over that rock on a leash. When it came time to go to bed, that dog was so tired that my mom had to pick him up and put him in his bed. He simply would not move on his own accord.

Here's another shot of that boulder from another angle. In the little town of Bodfish just south of the lake, there is a place called Silver City Ghost town. Because of our love of all things old, we decided to visit there. Most all of the buildings included in this 'town' were moved from historic sites around the valley. During the gold rush and in the insuing years, this area was mined heavily. When the ore ran out, the settlements were abandoned. Someone took the time and money to move a number of these buildings to on central location - Silver City Ghost town. So while the town is not authentic, the buildings are. While visiting, there was a reinactment going on. It was pretty corny, but the bad guy 'got it in the end'. I'll let the reader decide what end I mean. Here's a couple of pics. Here's Sandy in jail!! I didn't bother taking any pictures of our camp site. It was a crappy place anyway and our site was maybe one of the worst in the park. We were right next to the bathroom and store, so kids kept running through our campground - of course they had to dodge the huge ants that were all over the place. I was getting pretty bent out of shape by the second day of this. Anyone who knows anything about camping understands that you should NEVER enter someone's camp without first asking permission. It's just common courtesy. Of course, I tried to enlighten some of these waifs . . . but to no avail. Choking them would have been illegal, so I just gave up. Claymore mines might have damaged our own rig. Seriously though, it was a terrible experience. Fortunately, there are much nicer RV parks around, which we will use if and when we return.