Morishige Family Big Sur Camping Trip Spring 2016

In the midst of the California public spring break we headed off to the Big Sur coast in hopes of finding a campsite at or around Plasket creek. This great idea quickly didn't turn out as planned as the camp grounds we suspected to have a larger amount of first come first serve campsites have now moved to reserving almost all sites via their web reservation services. At first this didn't seem much of a big deal for us but we quickly realized that one of the things we liked most about camping was being able to find a stop and be there for at least a few days. Instead of being able to post up we had to unload, reload, unload, reload, stress about camping locations for 2 nights until we found the magic spot. The first night worked well but the second day was a true test in patience. We were able to find a camp ground at Lime Kiln and it did have a magical view but the wind howled at us nonstop and because the wind howled the previous tenant of our spot decided to leave early and it didn't take long for us to figure it out. The 20 - 30 knot winds blew our elation of having found a spot out into the redwoods and I spent a large amount of energy trying to come to grips with the situation. The following morning we were unable to find another campsite at Lime Kiln so we had to do the 45 minute packup and throw the dice again. After we hit Kirk and the Plasket once again, no luck, thankfully the really nice camp host at Plasket told us to go check Nacimiento road and owe her big time for that. Before we headed up the road we spent $24 on 4 gallons of gasoline and dropped a line to Jackie with the sounds of skillsaws and drills (the place the pay phone was located was on a deck that was being rebuilt). With a half tank of Gas we wound our way up Nacimiento road in hopes of finding our camping salvation. The views on Nacimiento road are jaw dropping and there were plenty of pull offs that many people were camping at 1500 - 2000 feet above the ocean with grand views and sheer cliffs. We finally made it to the first camp ground on the road and drove around looking at possible sites, we spotted a really nice one and were about to unload when a group of college students pulled up right next to us and started looking as if they were going to drop their stuff on the site we were parked at with us still sitting in the car there. We told them our intent and they hung their heads and backed their car in right next to ours. As we began to unpack they told us the were planning to make a lot of noise and asked if it was okay. Laura and I were both baffled and decided to head on as unhappiness would surely linger around these folks. Our decision was rewarded by finally coming to the haven of the Ponderosa campground. The campground had yet to be officially opened so there were only 5 available sites on the creek before the entrance gate, we took the last remaining one. At last we were able to unload and not be rushed to go anywhere, to eat, sleep, and creek crawl at our leisure. Newts hid under the rocks where we retrieved water for our tea, rice, and coffee. After 2 days of magic we had eaten most of our food and drank all our milk and were ready to head home. Instead of driving back to the 1 we drove East to the 101 through some of the most pristine grasslands I've ever seen. Sticking with tradition we grabbed a burger at In-N-Out and headed home. We'll definitely be coming back.