Camping at Big Pine Creek

We finally went camping this Summer! It only took us until the end of the Summer to do it...oh well. We headed out to Big Pine Creek, although my dad told me we were going to Independence (which is about 40 minutes South of Big Pine keep in mind). We headed out on Friday at about 3:00pm, which is 2 hours later than when we wanted to originally leave. Jacob and I followed my dad and doug in my dad's little Isuzu, which can only go so fast (about 60 - 65 mph). So we finally leave and we are puttin' along on Hwy 395 and we have about 180 miles to go. It is taking us forever and a day! But we finally get all the way up there and by that time it's about 6:30pm. Then when we get there we find out it's $20 a night! Plus $7 extra for another vehicle. So, my dad didn't want to pay that much, "Those low-life scumbag Democrats!" (My father's words of course). And we leave to go see if we can get into another campsite down the road. Turns out they're all $20 a night with $7 extra for another vehicle. So we turn around, and by this time Jacob is irritated, and go back to Big Pine Creek campsite and we finally find a campsite that no one has reserved and start to set up camp. Mind you the campsite it super duper small and there is not enough room for my big-ol' tent and my father's tent. So we end up clearing away some brush back in the boonies for my dad, 'cuz our tent is too big to fit. So by the time we get the tents situated and put up I start to cook dinner at about 8:45pm. Hoping that we'll get to eat sometime that night... Meanwhile the boys are trying to figure out what is going on with our lantern and are trying to fix it. Here's a pic... We finally eat about 11:00 at night and dying of hunger pains. And freezing cold, cuz it dropped like 20 degrees when the sun went down. And of course Jacob only brought shorts and a light jacket and I only brought a sweater and a little wind-breaker. We are smart, aren't we? So we all decide to hit the sack and I finally fall asleep. But, I woke up about 2 hours later with my feet frozen and my head totally cold. So, Jacob and I start cuddling (which we never do when we sleep) to try and keep warm. It was the worst night ever! But the next morning when the sun finally came up it was better. The rest of the trip went well, the next night my dad gave us two extra blankets he had in his truck (imagine that!). We were warm that night. Anyways, here's some photos of the trip, I hope you enjoy!