Day 20

Always check the late arrival policies! In many campgrounds, if you arrive after the office is closed, you can go and set up at a site, then register & pay in the morning. At Lake Solano Campground, the gate is locked at 7:30pm, and you are out of luck until they open at 8am. We arrived at 11:30, so we ended up sleeping in the van parked by the side of the road. Not terribly comfortable.

Once we were able to get in, set up, and eat breakfast, we got everyone into swimsuits and headed for Lake Berryessa, 45 minutes away. This is the first night in over a week where we’ve been away from the coast, and it’s much hotter here! Perfect for swimming. My friend Nik’s husband RJ is a park ranger out at Berryessa, so we met them at the swimming area, ate lunch, and played in the water for a couple of hours. The lake is a gorgeous shade of blue-green, and the water felt great. There are a couple of islands not far from the swimming buoys, and RJ is a lifeguard, so he and Nik swam with Drew, Jace, and Kendra out to one of the islands. The kids were pretty happy, and I managed to get a couple pictures of them climbing to the top of the island. I thought about going out with them, but I’m not a strong distance swimmer, and the three life jackets were being used by the kids, so I stayed on the shore with the Aspen, Levi, and Lily.

After we swam, Nik and RJ took us back to the dorms where park rangers live, and we got to use their shower. Hallelujah! I hadn’t showered in three days, and some of the kids had gone a week, so it was a very welcome sight. RJ and Jeff grilled burgers, we had a delicious dinner, and then my kids proceeded to burn up all of the energy that they’ve been storing after being stuck in the car for two days.

We also went down to the visitor’s center, where the kids got to see some of the local wildlife that’s been stuffed, and learned more about the Bureau of Reclamation, which owns and manages the lake and dam. It may sound less than thrilling, but it’s always fascinating to me to see pictures and read about the towns that existed in the valley, which are now under 200 feet of water.Once the kids had run themselves—and Nik and RJ—ragged, we loaded back up and drove back to our campsite. It was 9:00, so the gates were locked, and we had to walk to our site. Thankfully, it was less than a half-mile and only two of the kids were asleep!

Total miles today: 65