Lucky me to have been raised by not one, but two, adventurous parents. For as long as I can remember they were taking us places, driving down country roads, traveling deep into the Sierra Nevadas, parking next to riverbeds, popping up tent and trailer, roasting marshmallows, playing tunes around the fire, biking on dirt-filled trails, motor-boating across lakes, hiking through mountain and meadow, and eating some darn good, fresh caught fish.
My parents raised us right. They started this pattern when I was in the womb and even long before that, so it’s safe to say the camping bug is in my blood!
The past few years have slowed a bit for the Hipple family, with all us girls graduating high school, going off to college, working jobs, and now getting married! David and I were advised to start our own patterns. To take things we cherished from each of our families, adopt them, and make them our own. Camping will definitely be a pattern we will hold to.
Before the wedding, David and I promised ourselves that when we got back from the honeymoon we wouldn’t get into the slump of everyday life: getting up, going to work, coming home, eating dinner, going to sleep, and sleeping in on the weekends. NO WAY! We want to do stuff! So, when we got home, we took the first weekend we had and drove north into Big Sur.
The plan was to drive Highway 1 till we found an open site. Of course, they were all booked. A ranger pointed us towards Nacimiento Rd. a mile back from Limekiln, telling us to drive 14 miles in until we saw Ponderosa Campground. The scenes from that road were incredible, very different from the coast. It reminded me of the roads I grew up driving on in the Sierras. Spectacular ocean views, colorful plants and trees at every new bend, weaving into the mountains until the sea was nowhere to be found. It was much warmer in these parts which felt much more like the camping I’m familiar with.
We got to the site, found a spot, brought out all our new camping gear, strung up the hammock, and read about hobbits. We forgot to buy firewood so we scavenged for fallen limbs and branches, resulting in quite a solid stash, and started up a warm fire to fend off the mosquitos.
There really is nothing like the ease of camping. Crackling fire, easy-made meals, french-pressed coffee, toasty marshmallows and melty chocolate, starry skies, snuggly sleeping, and glorious views that never get old. Next time we’ll find some water to dip in to shake off the heat.
Happy Camping!