Mountain Loop Hwy Camping 5-19-12

The weekend weather has been warm and balmy, so Dave and I took Adventure Dog for a the year's first camping trip up the Mountain Loop Hwy.  We ended up finding a nice spot at Gold Basin Campground.  I had never stayed there before, but really liked the layout.  Most campsites had plenty of privacy, rather than being built on top of each other, and most of the sites on the opposite side of the road from the river had no campsite directly across from them.  This basically gave those sites direct river access also.  Parking was generous and each site had a tent spot built in.  It was $20 a night, but I felt it was pretty worth it.  In addition to the regular privies, there was a larger restroom with flush toilets and showers.

We went down to the river to enjoy messing around with the gold pan, soak up some sunshine, and fish until the ranger informed us that the river didn't open until June 2!  Oops!

After that we were also informed Cedar needed to be on a leash at all times.  I knew that, but was hoping to let it slide since we had no immediate neighbors and Cedar stays close to me.  Wondering what else we could get in trouble for, we went for a drive and enjoyed delightful views of Big Four and the surrounding mountains and valleys.  It was a gorgeous day.

When we got back from our drive, we had visitors.  Dave's brother, and friend Sean showed up with Sean's youngest daughter.  It was a really fun time, and I will definitely keep Gold Basin Campground right up on my list of top campgrounds so far. 

We woke up Sunday to crows, jays, and the persistant patter of rain, so left earlier than we had planned, but it was nice to kick off the camping season!