2024-04-17: Codorniz Recreational Area

Milestones:

• 12th county in California solo-camped. SHOW ON MAP

The Joy of It All…

This was a continuation of my camping trip to Pinnacles National Park. But, it was so nice, it deserves its own post.

My campsite was located at Eastman Lake which sits below the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in central California, about an hour’s drive north of Fresno. It was created when Buchanan Dam first began storing waters of the Chowchilla River in 1976. The dam is an earth and rockfill structure 205 feet high and 1,800 feet in length. At 600’ elevation, summers are warm, and the winters are mild, allowing for year-round recreation. The drive up to the lake was open pastures, with only a few cattle.

Built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for flood control, irrigation, recreation and wildlife management, the lake is both a functional as well as beautiful, family friendly park.

The mission of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is to “deliver vital engineering solutions, in collaboration with our partners, to secure our Nation, energize our economy, and reduce disaster risk.”

NOTE: Codorniz is Spanish for Quail.

This “welcome rock” was sitting on the picnic table when I arrived. It was God’s way of saying, “I know you were accosted by a wild beast the night before at Pinnacles National Park, but this will make up for it”.

The campsite was perfect:

• Bathroom with flush toilets only 100 ft away.
• Water and electrical hookups.
• Fully shaded canopy over the picnic table.
• Concrete walkways around the entire camping area.
• Huge campsite, with incredible views.

God Bless the US Army Corps of Engineers!

I took this picture of the moon shining through the top of my tent. I slept straight through the night.

The only negative was that geese were on the lake and I didn’t realize that they honk all night long at each other. It would get quiet for a while, nothing but frogs croaking. Then one goose would honk, and all his friends had to say something as well. Noisy birds.