Mother's Day Trip

This weekend was the annual Mother's Day camping trip with my Mom. We kept pretty local, heading up the 15 to Lytle Creek at the base of the Cajon Pass. The campground was full when we got there Sunday morning, but we anticipated everyone clearing out by the afternoon. We spent the day across the street from the campground, in the shade, on the banks of the creek.

Damn that river.

Soon after we were set up, hundreds of people started arriving for the Sunday barbecues. The canyon was filled with the smells of carne asada, and elotes. From our spot on the bank, we watched dozens of families wading up and down the creek. One family forded the creek and set up their spot right across from us. During the next couple of hours we watched them build this dam and create their own swimming hole. This is the kind of family fun that Mark Twain wrote about.

Mom waiting to kick my butt at Scrabble. Again.

As expected, the campground cleared out by the late afternoon, and by twilight, it was just us, the caretakers, and four other campers in the whole campground. This weekend was spent catching up as we sat by a creek, a campfire, or a Scrabble board.

The caretaker doesn't really care.

This campground would receive the lowest rating I've ever given to a government site. The water was now non-potable, so all the spigots hat purple tape on them. Campers were ignorant to the meaning of this and we saw dozens of people washing their food, their dishes and themselves in the tainted water. I wonder how many of them are sick today? The Camp Host sign was replaced with a sign that said "Caretaker - No Change & No Firewood." It was an absolute zoo during the weekend, but peaceful enough during the week. The camp is closed Wednesday and Thursday so midweek camping is very limited.