Spring at Carrizo Plain National Monument Carrizo Plain is amazing all year round and quite lovely i
Spring at Carrizo Plain National Monument Carrizo Plain is amazing all year round and quite lovely in the spring when the grasses are green and the flowers have bloomed. We went during flower season which might be the only time of year you’ll see a lot of people at this remote California location but it still wasn’t very crowded. We were still able to find an amazing campsite with a beautiful view overlooking the vast plain. The wildlife here is unbelievable. But sometimes you have to be patient and keep your eyes peeled. Carrizo Plain is one of our absolute favorite places to visit and camp. You really have to stay the night to get the full experience. One exciting bonus to this trip is that we were testing out our newly restored tent. THE TENT: So what is up with this cool tent? It’s a vintage brown label North Face tent called North Star. It was made in Berkeley, California between 1979-1983. Once I saw this really amazing looking geodesic dome sort of a thing way back when it was a dream to track one down and restore it. I spent a few years looking for one and realized quickly that it was very rare and hard to find. When I was lucky enough to actually find one It took a few weeks to restore the tent which was basically removing all of the old waterproofing. Not a fun process but now it’s in close to new condition and extremely fun to camp in. The tent is not intended for warm weather but is perfect for winter and cold weather camping. Even in May, plenty of areas in California are still dropping into the 30′s and 40′s at night. At Carrizo it was getting into the low 40′s. The North Star tent was practically silent all night and rock steady on a windy mountain overlook. I really look forward to using it in the high altitudes of the Sierras. I’ll definitely be posting a lot more photos of this beauty. -- source link
#carrizo plain#central coast#grassland#california#adventure#camping#hiking#california grasslands#snow peak