1/11 Back at Hensley Lake, Raymond, CA

This is one of my favorite campgrounds in California, and I have posted on it before.  This time, however, the grass was green after the recent rains and there was snow on the distant foothills of the Sierras.  It is my go-to place when I am looking for a place to spend a few quiet days in a very scenic place.  Let me know if you agree on how pretty it is.

The first few photos are taken on the drive in.  Note the snow on the mountains in the distance.  I took these through my windshield, and I am not sure if the blotches are on my camera lens or the windshield.  Unfortunately, I think they are on the camera lens because I keep seeing them in various photos, even after cleaning the lens.

Last time I was here (December, 2015), the land was drier.  There had been a little rain, but now there are lots of big puddles in fields.

More snow and mountains. 

Cows and more cows enjoying the cool weather and new grass.

You can tell that these are worn-down hills or mountains because of the rocks.

This is the dam that makes Hensley Lake.

No need to make reservations.  In December, I was the only camper, other than the camp host couple.  My site faces the lake, which is now 8' higher than it was, as I was told by the camp hosts.  One problem with this site is that there is a pretty substantial drop-off on the right side, so I was happy to have my new super-chocks for my rear wheels. I also turned my front wheels to the left so the vehicle would roll to the road instead of down the hill if it broke loose.

You can see that the covered picnic table and fire ring is down a set of stairs.

View of the lake in the distance.  Even with the recent rains, it is still only at 10% capacity, which is better than the fall 5% capacity.

The trailer and pickup truck to the far right belongs to the camp host couple.  The husband told me that he and his wife had walked around the entire lake and cleaned up all the trash when it was at the lowest level--literally tons worth of trash!!

Nice to see the white bumper strips, but frankly, they would not do much to stop my vehicle from rolling downhill.

I walked a couple of hundred feet down towards the lake and got this photo of the mountain behind the small hills on the other side of the lake.

It would really be nice to see the water level higher on the dam.  This would be a much bigger lake if it had more water in it, as it is capable of having.

 

Now, don't you agree that this is a very pretty place to camp, even with low lake levels??