destination ojai! wheeler gorge and rose valley falls

we took dylan camping to ojai last weekend. wheeler gorge was perfect---no crazy, loud, neighbors or blasting heavy metal or oompah music; everyone was respectful of each others' space and privacy. sites were spacious and shady, which i loved, and our site was right next to the creek! those are the good--now the bad: poison oak, bugs (a few flies and mosquitoes), the vault (stink-y) toilets and the absence of showers. but those were minimal discomforts.

seriously---what's not to love than sitting under leafy oaks, listening to rushing water, reading a book, cooking outdoors, or just doing nothing. 

we had just dug out my dad's old coleman tent from my parents' garage--so we had to take it out camping, natch. it felt great to be able to camp in the same tent we used when we were kids growing up. i have fond memories of my dad and his love of camping. stuffed into the boxes of old tents, poles, sleeping bags, stoves and vintage lanterns was even an old map of ojai wilderness that he had saved.

so this past weekend, we found ourselves driving up highway 33, past ojai and up to los padres national forest.

setting up the tent couldn't have been easier. here was the view of the creek from inside the coleman tent--its upright walls made it feel more like a 'house' than a tent.

resurrecting old memories and my dad's old camping stuff was like him being there for us all over again--and finding that old ojai camping map--i could feel his guidance as if were handing us his blueprint for adventure and happiness.

his happiness is ours!

i miss you dad and dylan misses his papa! we appreciate all the love and affection you generously bestowed onto us while you were alive on this earth. we miss you greatly, every day, and feel your presence always.





django rock-hops up to rose valley falls--the trail to the falls is easy, only one mile in and is accessed from lion campground in the los padres national forest.



here i am, trying to climb up the falls--one slippery, mossy rock at a time. i imagine in winter and fall, after the rains, the falls is lush and spectacular. in early june, the falls wasn't so much a rush but trickles and then streams cascading over mossy rocks. still very pretty and worth the short hike in. lots of people were picnicking and kids were splashing about in crags and little caves here.



dylan climbs up the highest peak at rose valley falls with a friend and chats up the locals.



django fiercely guards against the occasional redneck happy camper crashing our site. good old django!



the creek was just steps down from the creek and dylan managed to have a hella good time trying to catch all sorts of bugs.

right now, we're wishing we're back in ojai, catching bugs with dylan and chatting with campers.   a weekend convening with nature always allows us to press the 'reset' button on our lives and our souls. happy!

see more photos here and here.

le shack: our new vintage trailer!

we did it--john, dylan and i are now the proud owners of a very old camping trailer. we now have a surf shack and cabin on wheels.

i'm still in disbelief we did this--after searching and trolling ads for months, we ended up buying a 1973 constructam caravan, originally made in belgium, shipped to california years ago that eventually found its way on craigslist.

before taking it on its maiden voyage last weekend, we were fraught with questions--will we be able to tow this thing around? have we lost our minds? will it be fun?

a resounding yes, yes and yes.

we usually visit ojai in the fall, and we ended up taking 'le shack' to camp comfort since it's located a mile from downtown ojai--i imagined if anything went wrong or we needed supplies, we wouldn't be too far from civilization.

so the experience was all very civilized...



thank goodness the camp had electrical hook ups--we were able to plug in a coffee maker, toaster oven, ipod player, and of course, laptop for playing DVDs for dylan.

driving up the 101 wasn't too bad; we did lose a cracked skylight on the way (yikes) and it did start  raining as soon as we hit the campground. john put up a tarp, and the rains fell like mad. we fell asleep listening to the thundering rain--and thanked our lucky stars we brought along that tarp.

mini kitchen

dylan plays sommelier and waiter for mom and dad. he had a ball. 

in the morning, we woke up snug, warm and dry. nothing really works on the trailer--the sink needs to hooked up for running water, the european mini fridge runs on 240 voltage and needs to be replaced with a u.s. model, no bathroom on board; the trailer is rusty and crumbly and it will need work, inside and out.

but we absolutely adore it.

our site at camp comfort was nice, next to a babbling creek and john and dylan built a fire--what is it about men and boys and fire? the camp host donated firewood, and some of the other campers (who brought huge rvs complete with satellite, big screen tvs, etc.) shared firestarter and they were all very friendly and convivial. some even complimented our little trailer.

snacktime under the trees. those granny curtains will have to be replaced, asap! 

i couldn't be happier.

kickin' it: ukulele and story time in the 'dining room'

being goofy, our dylan

dining room turned into bedrom

the other dining area turned into a sleeping area

camp comfort: like a glorified parking lot, but peaceful and quiet. 

dylan had the most fun being tarzan--getting dirty and wet, and dragging everything through mud and soot and just having the time of his life. that's what happens when you go camping in the rain--the experience was akin to waldorf preschool--letting a kid run wild through the forest. it's just what this kid needs.

at this very moment, i'm impatient to hitch up 'le shack' and head out again--to the desert, beach, mountains? and we keep asking ourselves, why didn't we do this sooner?

away we go to jalama beach (glamping revisited)

a getaway was in order for october. we caravanned up the 101 past santa barbara to the coastal area of the santa ynez mountains, past cow pastures and meandering valleys and vineyards and orchards, to a place far from civilization. we wanted to take the kids camping while the adults wanted the comforts of glamping; lucky for us, there were cabins available for rent and we managed to snag a reservation--when we got there, we could see that these cabins were some of the hottest bookings around.



where else in california can one camp at the beach, hike, explore coves and caves, roast marshmallows, hobnob with hippie surfers AND get away from it all? and go glamping in your very own furnished cabin? jalama beach, that's where. it was fabulous and relaxing, in a sort of magical way. jalama beach is the ultimate hippie surfer refugee camp. and i mean a refuge from l.a., from pollution, from cell reception, directv, from noise, urban blight and miles and miles away from any freeway or mall.



just the sound of the wind whipping over sand dunes, the sound of babies and kids frolicking in the sand. that's it. that sound.




and we went with the best bunch imaginable---everyone sharing stories, playing with the kids, cooking, tending to the fire, beachcombing, grilling, gathering sticks and stones, and most of all, we shared the sunset with each other, knowing that life is a good thing, indeed.










everyone contributed--even the little ones. dylan and his buddy benito built sand castles, tunnels, and rock and seaweed sculptures--as if they were born to do exactly those things.

they even did a breakfast party dance for their babysitters, mienah and sophia.



we love camping!!



and best of all, we sort of did nothing. in a very grand, nothing, sort of fashion. meaning, no reaching for smartphones, cells, emails, internets, no burying oneself in the art of facebooking or youtubing.  none of it.

instead, we made up songs and games.



and we pretended that we were shipwrecked on a castaway island, in the middle of nowhere. we played pirate ships on the high seas.



fierce pirates land ho!



we reveled in the nothing....







and captured more ships....and treasure too. and we went to go hide the treasure in our secret limestone cave:



sophia led the way...



we buried our treasure, and then we had to go home.





it was the best time. ever.  a big thank you to our jalama surf camp crew! you guys are awesome.

camping the san gabriel river, crystal lake and spotting snakes!

we took dylan camping for the first time--we decided the sierras were out, since six-hour car rides are just exhausting; but the san gabriel mountains is just an hour's drive from the beach so decided to stay local and took the dogs camping too. last weekend, we stayed overnight in big bear and this past 'carmageddon' weekend, we drove to the east fork of the san gabriel river, a totally hidden, freeflowing, refreshing stream that dips into secret swimming holes, waterfalls, and lots of places to camp river-side. inspired by our hiking and foraging friends gregory and emily (check out greg's foraging finds on his latest blog post), we also drove up the west fork up to crystal lake (where we ran into not one but two snakes! yikes!). dylan took to camping easily--we took favorite blankets and read his bedtime stories by flashlight and lantern inside a bare-bones cedar cabin at camp williams, a totally rustic campground directly on the river. 

hiking up to crystal lake (bring a fishing pole), dylan demonstrates how to scare away bears (and people).  

the stairs down to crystal lake

summertime at camp williams, where the livin' is easy (and refreshing) bring your tent! and there's gold in them thar hills! the east fork of the river is notorious for gold-panners and prospectors. 

john herds the boaters onto the river

django and his frisbee wows the crowd yet again.

now, camp williams was neither fashionable nor trendy; it sure wasn't "glamping" nor was our cabin the ace hotel and the people who lived there---well, imagine what a place would look like if people were still panning for gold in the river in 2011. that's the sort of place this was--no joke--a bunch of outlaws, bikers, and homesteaders. (i even managed to find tiny bits of gold in the river myself! big thrill!) but the folks who ran the place were more than helpful, friendly and nice. when we arrived, it looked like we had the entire campground to ourselves, with views of the river and mountains, loads of peace and quiet. we set up camp, made dinner and went to bed listening to the sounds of the river. so nice.  

the next morning was a different story--we woke up to find an entire tent city being erected all around us, our peace and solitude gone. an entire herd of trucks and minivans had carvavaned into the campsite, and a huge group set up camp right in front of us, as loads of kids ran around and adults set up all sorts of equipment. we said bye bye to any privacy and our efforts to 'get away from it all.' phooey on them. 

i thought we had gone into the mountains to escape urban life and here was urban life encroaching on us--in the wilderness, in the middle of nowhere. how could this happen? moan and groan. then, dylan started kicking a soccer ball with some of the kids in the group, congregants of a church on a camp retreat. we met the families, they invited us to join their meals and dylan ended up becoming fast friends with the boys, who played soccer in front of our cabin. everyone took turns throwing frisbee with django and he became the camp dog. the church group welcomed us into their fold, they played with dylan, and we looked after each other. 

so in our desire for escape, we got a lesson in being neighborly and learning to get along--no matter the circumstances, crowded campsite or not. lessons sure do find you when you least expect it. so while our first camping venture wasn't the thoreau-esque adventure we were seeking, we did end up making some good friends with the gang from semilla nueva catholic church (new seed) from santa ana. and while it's good to escape from the city, it's always good to have lots of company, too, we found.  

here's dylan and his friends: 

oh--and mom got a lesson in how not to apply sunscreen to a kids' back---because it just might turn out like the photo above! oops. sorry dylan, mom thinks she's a big joker. 

check out the video of dylan and friends rafting down the san gabriel river at camp williams. i believe a good time was had by all. and this experience all happened in the confines of l.a.! 

stay local!