Trailaler Adventures

Deciding where to go on our very first adventure was a big decision. We wanted to go somewhere that would have plenty of things to do to keep us busy, because anyone with small kids knows that keeping them busy is the key to your happiness and sanity! Since this would be the maiden voyage, we didn’t want to go too far for a couple of reasons. First of all, towing a trailer takes some getting used to, I actually still haven’t attempted it. I selfishly enjoy sitting in the passenger seat getting uninterrupted Pinterest time on my phone. For now, I’m going to leave the towing to Mark. Secondly, has anyone ever taken a long trip with a five month old and a preschooler? For those of you who have, you realize, the shorter the trip the better.

We decided to leave on my birthday and planned an early start…that didn’t happen. Early start! What were we thinking? We’ve never packed up a trailer before, have two small kids, and a dog…early starts don’t exist in our world! I also forgot to mention that I should’ve gone to the grocery store the night before, however, the kids decided to not go to bed easily that night so we decided we would just run to the grocery store in the morning. So, after packing up the trailer, the kids, and the dog and stopping at the grocery store, we finally headed out around 10:00 am, two hours after our originally planned time.

The drive up seemed like a breeze. We stopped in Oakdale to feed the baby and take potty breaks. One thing I would like to mention is that it would be great if there was a sign somewhere before you leave Oakdale stating this is the last gas station before New Priest Grade Road…this becomes significant in a little bit. We continued on, and from what navigation said, we figured we could make it without any more stops.

As we headed past Lake Tulloch on Highway 120 and approached New Priest Grade, we had no idea what we were getting in to. Ignorance is bliss in this situation. New Priest Grade has a 4% grade with a lot of switchbacks. As you drive up you cant help but think, “where in the heck does this windy, steep road lead”. It was 100+ degrees out and there is a sign that tells you to turn off your AC. Our SUV seemed to be pulling the trailer pretty good up the grade and then, it happened, our gas light came on. All I can say here is that Mark gets major brownie points for holding it together during my crazy panic. All I kept thinking is that it was so hot, we have an infant, the AC is off, where is the next gas station, and on and on. I was panicking about what we are supposed to do if we run out of gas on this road, there isn’t anywhere to pull over, what will we do??!! Any mom reading this is totally understanding my panic right now, my heart was racing. Mark remained so calm. Finally, as we climbed to the top, we saw a little restaurant and all I thought was please, please let there be a gas station. Mark pulled over and I ran into the restaurant and asked the first employee I saw where the nearest gas station was. He quickly and calmly replied that it was a half mile up the road, obviously I wasn’t the first to stop and ask this question. That last half mile seemed like the longest of my life, but we made it to the gas station and headed on. We drove through Groveland and then arrived at the Pine Mountain Lake campground, we made it!

The campground is great! You really feel like you are camping here. There are 11 RV sites with full hookups, which we needed since we don’t have a generator yet. The sites are also really affordable, $36.50/night. We set up camp and just decided to relax at the site for the rest of the day. You can’t have campfires at Pine Mountain Lake as the fire danger is just too high there, but we were still able to make Smores on the BBQ. We were really looking forward to swimming at the lake and fishing over the next couple of days.

The campgrounds at Pine Mountain Lake allow you to utilize the private lake amenities by purchasing a 7 day vehicle pass for just $27.00. This is a really great deal! The following day, we headed to the lake and let me tell you, we had a blast! Despite the very hot weather, there are plenty of shady spots on the beach to keep you cool. Ryan swam for hours, we practically had to pry him out of the lake just to eat lunch. The lake is small, but perfect with young kids. It has everything you need, even icy cold beers. Ryan loved swimming to the dock and thought about going down the slide but just wasn’t ready yet. After all day at the lake, we headed back to our campsite for dinner and relaxation.

The next day, we decided to take Ryan fishing before it got too hot. Mark stopped by the marina to get a fishing license and then we headed over to fisherman’s cove. Ever since we bought the trailer and told Ryan we would be going camping, all he wanted to do was go fishing. It was a peaceful morning, with no one around. Mark had a great time teaching Ryan how to fish. They didn’t catch anything, but the memories alone made it worth it.

We then headed back to the lake for more swimming. The vehicle pass allows you to use the pool as well, but the lake was perfect for us. All in all we had a wonderful first trip. It was nostalgic for me to go back to Pine Mountain Lake as we had vacationed up there a couple of times when I was a child. Everything comes full circle when you watch your children do the same things you did. I should mention that Pine Mountain Lake is on the way to Yosemite and if we had more time, and the kids were older, we would have definitely gone there as well. We can plan for that next time as I’m sure we will be back!