Tuolumne Meadows, Our First Camp with the Cabin Complete!

As I'm making this new entry I've got tri-tip smoking in the BBQ for our camp.  I like to try and meal plan ahead of time and I always like the first night in camp an easy meal.  This time I didn't want to make a cast iron meal, that will be the following night and I wanted something super easy so I decided on BBQ tri-tip.  It'll smoke and cook for a few hours then I'll pack it up to be tasty dinner and lunches while we camp.

Low and slow, smoked with hickory and pecan.

When cutting trip tip, cut against the grain of the meat not with it to make it tender.

This is our first Father's Day camp and we are starting a new tradition.  I booked our weekend online at www.recreation.gov and surprisingly they hadn't booked up yet. We're heading up to a new campground on a new adventure in Yosemite National Park.  We're staying in high country at the Tuolumne Campground which sits along the river and meadow.  This time of year is suppose to be the best time for this area with a lot of active wildlife and fields full of wildflowers.  For this camp we did have to add a few things like bear spray as a just in case measure because we will be camping in bear country.

I've been doing little projects again because it's just too darn hot to work on the trailer.  I ordered rubber rain trim to put on the trailer to help keep it dry.  This is such a cheap and easy extra step that even makes it look sharp.

A 25 foot roll costs around $8.00 and would complete about 3-4 trailers.

The trim slides easily into the trim grooves covering screws and rivets.

Once it's on the shape helps the rain channel and run off keeping it from finding ways down into the trailer.

This is our first trip out with the cabin complete and we were very excited.  The drive up was very nice and didn't take as long as we anticipated.  We turned onto the Tioga Pass and after a 10 mile climb to the park gate, our campground was another two miles in.  Tuolumne Meadows is breathtaking, at over 8,000 feet it is a mix of evergreen and marsh meadows along the Tuolumne River and too many creeks to name.  Granite mountains rise up all around and glacier packs can been seen at their tops.  This is truly God's country and the smell of the green and trees fills your whole body.  

The road into the campground is narrow and a mix of pavement and very soft dirt.  The road through the campground is only wide enough a car but has turnouts to pull in to allow passing.  This is the largest campground in Yosemite and really doesn't have many spaces for anything over Scamp or Pop-up size, though it does have a few but I would call to make sure.  Half the reservations are online and the other half is first come.  The staff was very nice and gave us a great location up near the horse camp.

Every site has a locking bear box and you are required to put all food and toiletry items inside.  While we were there we didn't see any bears but we followed the rules since the woods were only ten steps away.  

Tioga Pass park entrance. 

The sites are large in very soft dirt.

Each site is spaced so that you can stretch out and not bug your neighbor.

The new kitchen worked out so well, it was nice to have everything within arms reach.

Alex was able to use her Christmas present finally, she loved her hammock tent.

We used sage bundles smudging to keep the mosquitoes away.

Views from the Tuolumne River at the campground.

One of the many waterfalls throughout Yosemite.

Even parking on the road they have bear boxes so you don't leave food in the car.

Lembert Dome.

There are trout in the river so bring a rod and license. 

Dutch oven jambalaya....YUMMY!

We took a day and drove a short  way up to Bodie, a small mining ghost town.  Alex has wanted to visit here since she was about 4 years old.  She is a ghost hunter without fear and had heard of the many tales of bad luck and angry spirits of the town.  The town was born in 1859 when gold was discovered.  It began with 20 people and erupted into over 10,000.  At one time the town had over 65 saloons and brothels.  This was a very dangerous town and held the reputation as the murder capital of the state.

Many of the departed are buried in and around the Bodie cemetery while overs are told were thrown down the mine shafts.  Gold dried up and everyone left the town, leaving behind many houses and buildings like they were frozen in time.  I did check pockets before we left because I didn't want any of our party to upset the ghosts of the town and bring the curse home.  If anyone removes anything from Bodie they will have bad luck until it is returned.  The museum has many of the apology letters from folks returning items they had taken on their visit.

This is a state park now and the cost is $5 per adult, $3 per child, $2 for the walking tour map.

The general store was still stocked waiting for customers to return.

The Bodie firehouse is just missing the horses and firemen.

Table set for a meal and nobody around.  It left a strange feeling to see everything as though the homes were waiting for the owner to return.

The empty pool hall in the Bodie Hotel.

 The trip was great we met a lot of campers and staff, the Blue Guppy was the rock star of the campground and trip.  The search and rescue group housed at the campground came by along with the campground host and many others for a tour of our tiny trailer.  On the drive home it continued when we got buzzed by a F-18 fighter.  We heard what I thought was a siren and we quickly looked in the mirror until we heard the engine noise and I looked over and saw the plane bank back and I was looking at the pilot and he was looking back.  He flew along with us for awhile then when he saw enough he pulled up climbing and gone.  It was the best feeling having folks admiring the trailer and all the hard work.  I giggled because most thought the trailer was built in the 40's.  When we got home my new sticker for the trailer was waiting.

Until next time, stay safe and enjoy the camp.

Not Alone

Hello everyone!  It's been so hot here it's been hard to do much of anything...I guess summer has arrived.

Since the heat has been fierce I've only been working on small details in the evening but I do have a trailer I wish to share along with the story.

This is Sara and her Crybaby/Surfside Trailer.  This is one of many stories that have come to me and I'm going to share them as I receive permission.  

Sara and her husband had a dream to see the states when they retired.  Sara's husband sadly passed on before this but Sara kept this promise alive and entrusted Crybaby/Surfside to build the trailer for her adventures.

After months of calls, trips to the shop, broken promises, and past due delivery dates Sara received her trailer.  It was just in time for her trip down South to visit family and pick up her Granddaughter for a special trip.  

This was the trip from hell for Sara.  The South is known for some great storms though this one was not one of those rather just a normal wet week.  Sara could do nothing as her trailer leaked filling the cabin and galley with water.  Everything was ruined, the mattress, her clothes, the food, everything was soaked.  When the rain stopped she was able to clear out some but the mattress and everything were ruined.

Water soaking in the carpet.

Water damage to the cabin walls.

Water damage to the galley.

Leaking door causing more damage.

Food bins sitting in water ruining the food.

Bedding and clothes soaked.

Water pooling in the galley.

Water damage in the galley.

Sara was forced to cut her trip short to drive the trailer back to California to try and get a refund, she had only had it three days.  She had to watch the tears stream down her Granddaughter's face because she now couldn't take her on their planned trip.  Sara had to rent hotel rooms the entire return trip because the memory foam mattress was a sponge soaked with water and ruined.

You may ask how it worked out when she came home.  Well like the rest of us this company does not stand behind their work and refused to take the trailer back.

Sara has now been working hard with help to fix the trailer so she can sell it because it no longer holds the joy it should for her.  I'm very proud to know this amazing woman, we have become friends bonded by our experience.  The trailer is coming along great and I hope to share photos of it completed in the next week or so.  I do have some to share, they've done a great job and it will be a great little trailer.

Starting the rehab on the galley.

Repairing the cabin damage.

Sealing and trimming the walls.

Sealing the doors properly.

Working on sealing the exterior too.

Sara sealed the vent.  Crybaby/Surfside doesn't use butyl tape or and sealer to keep the vents from leaking.

The galley coming along very nice.

Sara's galley completed.  Love the candy red color!

Sara was like me, couldn't wait to peal the company sticker off so others wouldn't fall into the same trap.  

A nice clean galley lid once the sticker was removed.

Stay tuned to see how Sara transforms her Lemon into a great little trailer.

If you have a story and photos of lemon from this company, I'd love to share your story to help show others there are many more out there.  Message me!

Stay safe and have a great camp.

Looking Forward to the End....A Little Closer

I wanted to start this week's entry with some information for those who have either purchased and received a poor quality trailer with safety issues and for those that placed a deposit on a trailer and did not receive one or a refund.  There are avenues you can move forward with against Crybaby Teardrop/Surfside Custom Trailers.  Let me start with the folks that did not receive a trailer, I encourage you to file a report with the Huntington Beach Police Department, they are aware of this business and you can have a report taken at the desk.  I also encourage you to leave feedback on Yelp, both business names are there.  For those who have received a trailer with safety issues such as a cut axle, doors that do not stay shut, and if your trailer is registered as a utility trailer please contact me immediately I have information for filing a report with the proper authorities.  As a trailer builder trailers must meet certain safety standards before they are deemed worthy for the road.  I ask everyone who has suffered because of their business practices to contact me in moving forward with a lawsuit against them.  tabitha.wbtb@gmail.com Now on to some fun stuff.

The  weather has been a bit weird some days it's up in the 90's with blazing sun and then days like today were I have to come to a stopping point because we are in a flash flood warning.  No rain yet but didn't want to be working and have a downpour.

                                       

Waiting for the weather to pass.

                                       

We started the back cabinet with the shelf bottom.

                                       

I cut the uprights to fit the slope of the roof.

                                       

I secured the uprights with 1"x1"'s and framed the top and side with the same to support the face.

                                      

With some wood glue and nail gun the face started to go up.  I used the leftover pieces of cedar to match the rest of the interior.

                                      

The weather finally passed and I headed back out to complete my project.  The face to the cabinets installed.  The cedar planks were not very wide and they were thin and I worried the table saw would splinter the wood so I decided to use my tile saw.  I added some water and it cut the boards beautifully and I didn't need to sand any splinters.

                                      

Both side cabinets will have doors and the center we will leave open.

The rear cabinets trimmed out now here comes the before and after!

I had to share again, this was our rear shelf which broke our first trip out.

Pillows, clothes pins, sheets and a deck of cards..... this should not have broken but you can see the material that was used... no glue, no reinforcement, just this held in by the over-sized stereo housing.  Look at the ceiling falling down in one spot and off to the side it doesn't even go to the wall.

When we got the trailer the shelf looked normal until we put something on it.  The speakers we moved to the ceiling so they wouldn't get damaged by gear during travel.  The stereo we removed and use just an XM receiver and amplifier connected to the speakers.  The new cabinets now fit the space and are built to last.

My project list keeps getting smaller and with this complete the cabin is finished.  I still have some big projects ahead of me, I mean I still have to replace the windows, galley lid and hinge, have all the pinned joints on the frame welded, secure the under bed storage floor, have the rims and fenders stripped and powder coated, rebuild the spare tire mount, and seal the undercarriage.  Looking at this list may make some cringe but this is an eighth of what it was and doesn't make me dizzy looking at it anymore.

In closing I want to share some camping hacks to help during your next trip.  It's summer and that means bugs and other critters are out just waiting for their next snack to roll into camp.  Now we don't like bringing chemicals into the wild with us so here are a couple of natural recipes that work really well.

Mosquito Spray

Catnip

Lavender 

Vinegar

Almond Oil

Spray Bottle

Soak the catnip and lavender in a jar of vinegar for 2 weeks (cloves also work well in place of catnip), strain into a spray bottle and add 1-2 TBSP almond oil (olive oil can be used in place of almond).  The oil helps it stick to the skin better.  Mosquitoes, flies, and other bugs do not like the smell of these and will stay far away.

You can burn sage bundles to keep bugs away, use the bundle like incense and let it smoke in a container on your table.

Cleaner

Vinegar and lemon/orange

Soak lemon or orange in vinegar for 1-2 weeks and put it in a spray bottle.  This will clean and disinfect counter tops, tables, and stoves.

If you're in bear country use plain vinegar, you don't want to attract any unwanted guests.

Bear and Small Animal Deterrent

This one is easy, take some old rags and put them in a container that seals well, add ammonia to soak them.  Once at camp pin them up around the exterior of your camp.  The ammonia cuts the smells of any food and kind of jams the animals noses, they'll go on to another camp that smells of treats.

Remember when you are camping in bear country to put all you food, spices, toiletries, dirty clothes, and anything with a smell including cleaners into the bear box or up in a tree.  Make sure you've cleaned out your car too, a bear can smell a french fry or used candy wrapper from 3 miles away.  A bloodhound has a nose 10x greater than a human, a bear has a nose 30x greater than a bloodhound.

Have a great camp and stay safe!