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Old 02-25-2018, 10:21 PM   #1
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Detached Campsites

We went out to the coast, Pismo Beach. It was already dark when we arrived. Person in the booth said, "19 feet, no problem" and assigned us a campsite. Tried to fit in but it but it was way too short. It was dark and we were tired so I did the best I could, sort of an "L" situation.

Later a very polite sheriff knocked on the door and said we couldn't be parked like that and if he let us do that then everyone else would want to do it. He said that if unhooking was a nuisance for just overnight and going in the morning that it would be easier for us to take one of the "enroute" camping spots. Never heard of them before but basically, if you arrive after 6:00 pm and depart before 9:00 am, for a modest fee of $45 you can park in the day use parking spots. Since the spot we were in was also classed as a day use parking spot we just moved over to the parking lot area where we had lots of room.

We shared the parking lot with piles of earth from one of the 101 mudslides. Hmm, Walmart parking lot for free or short time day use parking lot for $45.

We went up to San Luis Reservoir. Same thing, obviously designed to have the tug detach from the trailer. There was no obvious reason why the sites were designed this way. Bit of a nuisance for one nighters.

Made us long for the generously sized pull through sites at Organ Pipe Cactus NM.

So how common are these detached type campsites?

Ron
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Old 02-25-2018, 10:26 PM   #2
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The side by side kind in the first picture? That's very common in CA state park.. most of the time they are meant for two vehicles and tent campers.. park the car and unload from the back to the flat spot and setup camp..
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Old 02-26-2018, 11:42 AM   #3
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For $45 per night you might try a KOA. At least there you can usually get a pull-through. (The KOA in Santa Cruz/Monterey [Hwy 1] is very nice as is the one up the coast in Pescadero [Coastanoa].)
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Old 02-26-2018, 01:28 PM   #4
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The side by side kind in the first picture? That's very common in CA state park.. most of the time they are meant for two vehicles and tent campers.. park the car and unload from the back to the flat spot and setup camp..
I guess what is a bit of a puzzle is that this loop was the one with power and water, the one that a lot of RV's would choose. At any rate I guess we'll take the time to look up the site plans for campgrounds and avoid ones with this type of situation for quick overnight stops.

Of course that might not always be an accurate way to judge a site. The map for Organ Pipe looked horrible. It seemed to indicate that the sites were jammed together. Imagine our pleasant surprise when we saw they were about 70' pull through's, concrete, with good separation.

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Old 02-26-2018, 01:42 PM   #5
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That's where Google Maps and Streetview comes in handy.
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Old 02-26-2018, 02:46 PM   #6
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I guess what is a bit of a puzzle is that this loop was the one with power and water, the one that a lot of RV's would choose. At any rate I guess we'll take the time to look up the site plans for campgrounds and avoid ones with this type of situation for quick overnight stops.

Of course that might not always be an accurate way to judge a site. The map for Organ Pipe looked horrible. It seemed to indicate that the sites were jammed together. Imagine our pleasant surprise when we saw they were about 70' pull through's, concrete, with good separation.

Ron
Ron in California most of the State Parks are old and small sites . For larger sites you are better off with private campgrounds etc. we also find State campgrounds expensive and letting them deteriorate claiming they don't have the money for upkeep. A lot of Casino's are excellent for nightly parking . Word of mouth is a great way to find great campgrounds . Going up to Washington on the 5 North in Redding , Mountain Gate is very nice and around 36 , full hooks ups . Best to ask around . Pat
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Old 02-26-2018, 03:29 PM   #7
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That's where Google Maps and Streetview comes in handy.
No, what would be really handy would be to have a bigger data plan.

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Ron in California most of the State Parks are old and small sites . For larger sites you are better off with private campgrounds etc. we also find State campgrounds expensive and letting them deteriorate claiming they don't have the money for upkeep. A lot of Casino's are excellent for nightly parking . Word of mouth is a great way to find great campgrounds . Going up to Washington on the 5 North in Redding , Mountain Gate is very nice and around 36 , full hooks ups . Best to ask around . Pat
Yes, we're great fans of free places to overnight and haven't often used California State Parks, which is why the detached parking situation came as a bit of a surprise.

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Old 03-01-2018, 10:01 AM   #8
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This past January we drove blind along the coast looking for a site to drop and unhitch, spend a few days visiting relatives in Venice Beach. Through the canyon, going east from Malibu Beach we found Malibu Creek State Park. Entrance had totally automated payment machine with a card. Options included a big discount for seniors so it was $22.50 per night. No hookups, but excellent toilets and guessing only 3 other campers were there, with maybe a hundred sites available.
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Old 03-01-2018, 10:24 AM   #9
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When we camped in Florida we ran into several campgrounds
( Public) where a 20 ft campsite was a 20 ft campsite.
Our 17 ft Casita barely fit in the site ( Tires against back bumper and hitch was about 6" off the road. We had to park our vehicle 3 blocks away in a parking lot that was out of view from our site
A real PITA if you need something out of your vehicle especially if it's raining.
I wish they would come up with a standard for stating the length of campsites .
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Old 03-01-2018, 01:22 PM   #10
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California enroute camping

We’ve stayed in Californi enroute camping spots a few times and they worked out great but they only cost us $15 dollars not $45.
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Old 03-04-2018, 05:14 PM   #11
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Any time you are near a casino stay there. Most of them offer free camping and then you always have something to do at night. Many have dining specials and entertainment. There are websites which let you know which ones are free.
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Old 03-04-2018, 05:46 PM   #12
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Any time you are near a casino stay there. Most of them offer free camping and then you always have something to do at night. Many have dining specials and entertainment. There are websites which let you know which ones are free.
Here is one Casino Camper - Home
and another http://www.casinocampgrounds.com/dir...irectory.shtml
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Old 03-04-2018, 06:33 PM   #13
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Any time you are near a casino stay there. Most of them offer free camping and then you always have something to do at night. Many have dining specials and entertainment. There are websites which let you know which ones are free.
We have also stayed at Mills Casino in Oregon near Tillamook many times , another favorite . Pat
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Old 03-04-2018, 07:19 PM   #14
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Any time you are near a casino stay there. Most of them offer free camping and then you always have something to do at night. Many have dining specials and entertainment. There are websites which let you know which ones are free.
Oh yah, love casino camping. Many have good deals on the buffet also. The best we've ever found was the one at Maricopa. Free $29 buffet because it was our first time there and $10 each to throw away in the slots.

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Old 03-05-2018, 12:01 AM   #15
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one thing I really can't stand about every casino I've been to is the omnipresent reek of old stale tobacco smoke. you can't get away from it. trying to eat at a breakfest buffet and everything tastes like the bottom of an old ashtray, yuck.
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Old 03-05-2018, 12:07 AM   #16
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Most of the time we don't ever even go into the casino. Gambling isn't our thing. We check out the buffet sometimes but that's about it. They also seem to be better now at separating the non-smoking areas. Noticed quite a difference at 7 Feathers a couple of weeks ago.

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Old 03-05-2018, 09:25 AM   #17
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I am not a gambler at all, just not into spending my money like that.

What I do like though, is to walk through one and look at all those happy cheerful faces of folks exuberantly playing on the machines. Sure makes it look like good fun.
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Old 03-05-2018, 10:10 AM   #18
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one thing I really can't stand about every casino I've been to is the omnipresent reek of old stale tobacco smoke. you can't get away from it. trying to eat at a breakfest buffet and everything tastes like the bottom of an old ashtray, yuck.
We aren't gamblers either . Will use their money if they offer though . The better Casino's have better air filtering . What is nice is safer over night parking . In the case of 7 feathers and Mills Casino if you chose to use their campgrounds nice level concrete pads with hookups . We are usually only going through and don't even need to unhook making for a faster get away in the morning . No one hates smoke then us including campfires . Pat
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Old 03-05-2018, 11:13 AM   #19
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What I do like though, is to walk through one and look at all those happy cheerful faces of folks exuberantly playing on the machines. Sure makes it look like good fun.
Yes, quite a difference between what they show on TV ads and the reality.

They wear their player cards, that are plugged in the the slot machine, on a lanyard that goes to their wrist. Kind of symbolic.

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Old 03-05-2018, 11:20 AM   #20
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Yes, quite a difference between what they show on TV ads and the reality.

They wear their player cards, that are plugged in the the slot machine, on a lanyard that goes to their wrist. Kind of symbolic.

Ron
And wear diapers so they don't have to leave the slot machine.
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