Here is our new campsite in Oceana CG. Our site is one of two occupied in the non-hookup area. The other is some folks in tents. Hope they are staying dry? The picture on the right shows how campsite selection is important. It is one half of our new campground. it was not flooded yesterday when we came in. It would have to rise another two feet to get us.
It's wet but some things seem to like it. there are mushrooms everywhere.
About 3pm we headed over to our old campground to see how it was doing. we had sveral detours due to flooding. Highway 1 was closed by our new campground heading toward our old one. We had to wind around through the neighborhoods to make our way close to the campground at the end of grand Avenue. Highway one was closed both direction from Grand Avenue. I walked in to the campground via a beach trail while Lou and Dawn enjoyed some spiked hot cocoa at the bar there by the beach.
When we left yesterday it was because we wanted to, not because the campground was closed. Today they closed it but probably too late. Our old campsite is under 2-3 feet of water and it was relatively high ground there. Our old site was just to the left in the photo on the left above. Our table has floated over to the bank that the water is flowing over.
This is one of the bridges on the path to the beach. Another to the right is probably under two feet of water.
The water coming from the creek and campground has cut a bank twenty feet high where we used to walk out to the beach on a slope . One trail has a twenty foot drop, the other a ten foot drop. Watch that last step! On the right above looking back from into camp from a dune south of camp. All that water is was the campground.
We thought the flooding last year was bad. This year is much worse, maybe two feet deeper. I don't think the campground will be reopening for a little while. The only RV left in the park belonged to a contractor working in the park. They probably left for the weekend. It looks to be under a foot or more of water.
Our white bean soup was hot and ready having been slow cooking in the pressure cooker with it's cozy cotton blanket and reflective bubble wrap case. Still hot enough to have to blow on to cool off the first bites.
Monday: (12/20) It wasn't raining as heavy today but did rain until late afternoon. We relaxed in camp until about 11:30 then headed up to SLO to see a movie and look around. We watched Harry Potters latest flick which was pretty good. Unfortunately, it had moved from the big, old, Fremont theater where it was last Thursday and was now in one of the adjacent typical multi-cinema screens. I was looking forward to killing two birds with one admission, see harry Potter and watch it in an older restored theater. Unfortunately I wasn't interested in Tron which was now showing in the Fremont. Maybe another time. After the move we walked around downtown. On the way home we stopped for dinner at Francisco's Country Kitchen, again. Tonight was rib night Lou and I ate our fill. Dawn enjoyed some fajitas.
This morning, most of our current camp had drained off as the adjacent pond drained. We were able to leave camp via highway 1, which was now reopened. Even our camp road was dry instead of the 4 inch puddles that had been there. North Campground was still fully flooded though.
Tuesday: (12/21) A nice day. High clouds with the sun peaking through ocassionally. no rain and probably none all night. The park is drained off and and pretty much looks normal except for a few trees thet fell over due to the ground being so wet. Lou and I started with a walk around the park. Breakfast was French toast with sausage. About 10:30, a ranger stopped by to tell us the park was closed and we would have to leave. They are expecting 20-70 mph winds and more rain tonight. They are afraid more trees will come down in the storm. We had already paid for tonight yesterday so they refunded our fees. Yesterday evening when we came into camp out near the entrance where they had the road closed to the beach. It said closed, no RV's or camping beyond. We thought it was misplaced. Our camp is beside the road to the maintenance yard. There have been at least 100 official vehicles pass by this morning, mostly the same 6 vehicles every few minutes. They must be paid by the mile rather than the product? Odd no one mentioned the park was closed. The ranger said they asked everyone to leave yesterday but missed us. We were intending to leave tomorrow and spend our last day out closer to home but will now head that way today. Still some things to do here before we go though. It was so nice being the only campers in the park. Too bad we have to leave.
We took a walk over to North Campground at Pismo Beach before we left. The fellow above left comes out to the beach once a week and builds his sand castles. the store made the beach look different.
The water had dropped to below the road pavement level.
Many of the picnic tables wandered during the flooding. We also found proof that gophers can't swim.
More wild tables above left. The high water mark shows on the wood shed of the camp host site.
The water lap marks on a gravel pile in one of the campsites show how high the water was. A contractors site was flooded.
With the high water, even the crawdads were out checking parts of the campground they normally don't.
The picnic table on the left above almost made an escape from the park on the entrance road. The water rose all the way to the highway one shold painted strip. The water had been up above the level of the pavement on highway one. We finally finished up and departed about 3:30 headed home. It's a couple of days early but with the storms we might as well. Don't want to close another state park. We were home a little after 6pm. Dinner was leftover white bean soup.
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