California Campground Reservations Using County Websites.

About this time of the year, many people are starting to plan out their annual summer camping vacations.  Problem is, after looking at some of the popular reservations sites in California, things are already starting to fill-up.  Now days, trying to get a popular camping site requires the same amount of effort as getting tickets to a popular rock concert or sporting event. So how do you find a campsite when everywhere you look shows filled up campgrounds?  My advice, is to search for open campsites  in the various counties of California. .  California like the rest of the states in the United States is broken up into multiple counties and most of the county municipalities run their own websites and camping reservations systems.  Below in the this post I have posted a quick how-to for getting those allusive camping reservations.



By looking at the map above think about were you would like to camp and find the corresponding county's name.  In this example, I want to spend some time in Morro Bay California, but Morro Bay State Park is reserved months in advance.  Using the search term “San Luis Obispo County Camping” I pull up the following results in Google.

Clicking on the www.slocountyparks.com link brings me to a list of campgrounds located in San Luis Obispo County. Another way to search would be to use the county's name and the search phrase “parks and recreations” An example of this would be “San Diego County Parks and Recreations camping”.  The idea is to be creative with your search phrases as each county will have a different website and differences on how they handle their campgrounds and reservations.

Based on a little research on this site, I found out that El Chorro Regional park campground is located about 5 miles from Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo.  The county of San Luis Obispo currently uses a phone reservation system and the majority of the sites at this campground are first-come, first-serve.  Since this campsite is not listed in the Reserve America system, the majority of the time if you arrive a few days before the weekend you can grab a spot at this great location on the central coast of California.

Searching the county websites for a campground reservation could take some work and additional time but is a great way to find those campgrounds that are not on everyone's radar during the busy summer months.  Even if the campsites are full, be sure to check back weekly as there maybe some openings and your competition for these spots will be on the low side. Who knows, you may actually find your favorite new camping spot using this method.  This is exactly what we did a few years back to find Mt. Madonna County Park in Santa Clara county.

Easy PVC Pipe Camping Gear, the Trash Stand

In a prior post, I wrote about the website Perfectly Versatile Campsite and their great collection of easy to make PVC camp gear.  In the next few weeks, I will focus on a few individual items to get the word out to the camping public.

This week, our focus will be on the PVC trash stand.

I don’t know about you, but this is a good alternative to taping the bag to the table or tying it around a tree limb.  Once assembled, you can place this close to the cooking station or near the picnic table for easy cleanup after meals. If you have kids, you can make this one of the items they set up at camp when you first arrive.

PVC Trash Stand Instructions

I have broken down the complete set of instructions so you can just print out the trash stand setup (thinking green).  To see the full collection of the PVC camp furniture go to the Perfectly Versatile Campsite website where you can download the entire set.

Coleman Hot Water on Demand Review

Update 1-24-10

Recently at my house, we had a hot water slab leak and we decided to go ahead and replace all the hot water lines in the house.  To make a long story short, the hot water was shut off for a week.  We used the the Coleman HWOD unit for the week and it preformed flawlessly.  The key was to keep the unit inside (when not in use) or covered and warm.  We must have pumped over 200 gallons of water without fail.  I have changed my recommendation to 4 stars.  My only complaint, is the dial knob seems to stick sometimes and make temperature adjustment difficult.

In an earlier review, I raved about the BAL Light Trailer leveler.  At this point, I cannot say the same thing about the Coleman Hot Water Heater on Demand (CHWOD).



The idea behind the Coleman Hot Water Heater on Demand is that you charge the lead acid battery overnight and attach a small propane bottle inside the unit; next, you drop the submersible pump in a bucket of water or the included collapsible water jug. A quick turn of the knob will light the burner and pump up water from the source and heat it to the desired temperature, if hot water is needed it can only be obtained by continually holding the knob to the hot side.



Coleman states that you can enjoy up to 40 gallons of hot water, enough for you average camping trip.  Unfortunately, my use of the unit was less than ideal.  I kept running into a low battery condition after a few minutes of use.  Calls to Coleman customer support had them send me a new battery and then finally a new unit.  I will spare you the details, but over the course of four camping trips, the units have failed with the exception of one trip.

After reading more online reviews about the unit, I have found that if the unit is left out in the cold in high humidity conditions, you will get the low-level battery error.  When I camped at Bass Lake where the temperatures was near 100 degrees, the unit worked like a champion and without fail.

The jury is still out on this unit.  It is rather large and heavy and takes up a lot of space.   Cost is around $200 and for that price needs to work every time you turn the knob.  If you camp in a drier climate or can keep it he car our trailer between uses then this unit might fit the bill.  I have no problems with the water output or temperature of the water with the CHWOD. If the unit works as advertised then I would be the first one to give this a high rating, at this point I can only give it a two and a half stars.  I will post up some updates as I use it on future trips.

Keeping the Smartphone going while Camping.

As more and more people transition from regular cell phones to the new line of internet enabled smart phones, battery life away from the home and vehicle can become a concern. Take my example, before my trip to Bass Lake in July 2009 I purchased a new IPhone 3GS. One thing that I quickly realized was the limited battery life this unit had. While I am not new to smartphones, the rate at which the unit used the battery was a surprise to me. I have listed a few tips that will help keep your phone going on those longer dry camping trips.

• If there is no signal, go ahead and turn the phone off.
  • Some phone can use a lot of power trying to pick up a signal, if you’re in a remote area it is better just to turn the phone off or place it in flight mode.
• Adjust your power options to turn the screen or backlight off sooner.
• Turn down the brightness
• Disable push e-mail and have the phone fetch e-mail once every hour or not at all (hey you’re camping you deserver a break).
• Bring the phone car charger.
  • You would be surprised how a quick run to the camp store can add a few hours' worth of use to your phone.
• Consider purchasing an extra spare battery or external battery-charging device.
  • I always carried a spare battery for my old Treo. Since the IPhone has a non-removable battery, you will have to purchase a charging case or battery. While these items are expensive, they can be life saving in an outdoor emergency. Here is a list of couple of external charging devices.
    • Mophie juice pack air
    • Case-mate
    • Energizer Energi To Go (non-IPhone)

With some of the tips listed above, you should be able to make it to the end of your camping trip.

PVC Pipe Camping Equipment

I came across this site a few months back looking for information on a gray water valve for my camper. I have included a link to the PVC engineer's website so you can download a copy of the plans in the Adobe Acrobat format. I personally like the garbage can and flag stands. It's a good idea to start with the basics, and add items as you need them. These PVC items can help keep the camping budget in check. With the money saved, you can buy more tri-tip and ranch beans. Just a thought.

Perfectly Versatile Campsite

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