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Our tent can hold up to 8 people but is very comfortable with just 4 and equipment. We pitched the tent at the edge of the meadow which you can see here in the background |
I received a mail on August 17 from Mr. Bankson informing that he sent me photos of his family camping with captions to them. I received them this afternoon two weeks after from his first notice because of my exodus from Tokyo's terrible summer heat to mountains. The following are his letter and photos with captions.
Mr. Bankson wrote:
On July 24 and 25, 1999, we camped in the Cleveland National Forest about 50 miles east of San Diego, California. The weather was beautiful and clear. The daytime temperatures were about 75 degrees and the night time temp dropped to around 40 chilly degrees. We stayed in the El Prado Group Camp area. Which is located on the edge of a beautiful and very big meadow. (See pictures #1, 2 and 3)
The campground is located off of the San Diego Hwy S1 near lake Cuyamaca and about 20 miles from a popular day trip town called Julian. In season, you can pick cherries or apples from orchards surrounding the town.
We camped together with 9 of our friends from Hope Chapel Gateway's MiniChurch #1. It was the first time for my family to camp together.
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Our tent can hold up to 8 people but is very comfortable with just 4 and equipment. We pitched the tent at the edge of the meadow which you can see here in the background |
| Early in the morning, after the mist had risen from the floor of the meadow, I ran out to take this picture before anyone else had waken. I could hear the meadow birds and squirrels playing in the grass. |
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Later, someone else woke up and I had them take my picture in front of the meadow. |
| Although camping is traditionally a dirty past time, this campsite was rather clean. You can see the grass that the tent is pitched on. This made for easy clean-up when it was time to leave. |
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This was my father's camp stove that we used when I was a kid when my father would drive us all over the western United States. I found it in his garage and cleaned it up. It looks like new and still works great after all those years of camping. This stove is probably over 40 years old. I made Mickey Mouse pancakes for the kids' breakfast. |
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These are my two daughters, Kumiko (which means
Everlasting Beauty)) and Emiko (which means Blessed Beautiful
Child).They enjoyed chasing squirrels, collecting interesting pieces of old wood, climbing on the fallen tree, and roasting marshmallows over the campfire for some mores before bed time. |
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This is my wonderful family. They are a gift from God. It was really great to see God's creation on this camping trip. To hear the animals, smell the trees and feel the cool afternoon breeze on my face was a blessing that only God can give through His creation. God is great! |
Next camping trip will be in September to Ojai,
near Santa Barbara,
California. I will check in with more pictures and stories to
tell. Until then, enjoy.
The Editor: Thank you for joining "Travel Diary". God bless you!
