Happy Campers

This weekend Jono and I ventured up to Alpine County to go camping at his childhood campsite, "Sandflat". Sandflat is tucked away, tucked away, in a mountain range just north of Yosemite. It is breathtakingly beautiful and secluded: a true northern California gem.

We set out after church on Sunday with only one stop for gas in Fresno (one very miserable corner of the world) and a car loaded with camping supplies (thank you Wangler family for lending your camping stove to us!). After 8 hrs of driving with the sun just behind the mountains, we finally made it to our destination: Only to find that Jono's childhood campground had been overrun by city slickers and RV's - much to Jono's disgust. We combed the campground in search of a good spot, but only found one barren site close to the road. This just wasn't going to do. We decided to go down the road to the adjacent campground, namely Clark's Fork. Here we found a much more peaceful atmosphere, even though it was full of memorial weekend campers, and so we decided to camp out there for a few days.

Our Tent

That night was FREEZING, because the mountains surrounding us were still covered with snow, which we failed to recognize until morning. Without much sleep we awoke to the rest of the campground packing up for the day: Our camping adventure was only starting!

Note the snow-capped mountains

We went on a bike ride to the river, where Jono spent hours fishing, with me trailing behind him. 

 

Then we went back to the campsite for some lunch. After lunch we set out on a hike that the Knepper family used to do each year. Upon which we had to scale this beauty:

But, once on top of this giant rock, the most awesome vista awaited us:

Whilst at the top of the mountain, a great storm was a-brewing and we could hear the thunder echoing through the canyon. Note the dark clouds

On our way back from the hike we went on a little impromptu bike ride... right into the storm. Needless to say we got rained on, but it was all worth it in the name of adventure.

Once back at our campsite, we thought it best to find a shower since it had been close to 3 days we had gone without one. We travelled to the closest town, Dardanelle, with a staggering population of two. Yes, the sign stated (2). 

Clean and warm, we headed back to our spot for dinner and a campfire. As we were quite exhausted after our very physically challenging day, we slept right through the night not even bothered by the cold this time.

The following morning we packed up camp and headed down the hill to Sonora (Jono's hometown) and ... COVER'S APPLE RANCH. This place is amazing. They have the best apple pie this side of the equator. With our bellies full, we hit the road back to Southern California... with two frozen Cover's pies in tow :)

I have never been much of a happy camper, but since marrying Jono, I have discovered a new appreciation for this kind of vacation. And even better was getting some insight into his childhood memories. As we discovered many hidden spots, I was astonished at the beauty of nature and how so much of it goes unnoticed by the majority of the world's population. Yet, God still creates it, and it's there proclaiming His glory, whether we see it or not.