The teardrop and I just returned from four days at Lopez Lake, east of Arroyo Grande and Pismo Beach. Lopez Lake was my second extended trip with the teardrop last year, and I enjoyed the place and the people I met there.
Campsite at Lopez Lake
One of the attractions of Lopez Lake is the abundant wildlife in the campground areas. The bird life ranges from the ubiquitous crows and an occasional raven, through chickadees and sparrows and their kin, to noisy flocks of clown-faced acorn woodpeckers. These cute critters sound like Woody Woodpecker and make holes in an oak tree to store their acorns.
Acorn woodpeckers
But the crowning glory of the local birds are the wild turkeys. On Wednesday evening, two toms were doing battle (mostly posturing and threats) over a flock of seven hens. The turkeys roost in the trees over the hill from the campground, and pass through the campgrounds going out in the morning and returning in the evening.
The hens are not at all afraid of people and willingly stuck around my campsite after my neighbor scattered a bunch of birdseed for them. The toms are much more skittish and shy and moved too quickly for me to get a clear photo.
Wild turkey hens
The deer are numerous and very bold. This doe had just walked through my campsite while I was taking pictures of the turkey hens.
Hide ‘n seek with this doe
While I was in the area, I visited Pismo Brewing in Pismo Beach to sample their beers. I recommend the Roadster Red Ale as my favorite. The next day, I ventured south and tried to visit Santa Maria Brewing Co. in Santa Maria, but they weren’t open at the time I visited. I traveled a little further south and had lunch at Orcutt Brew Co. in Old Town Orcutt (at the north end of Vandenburg Air Force Base). Unfortunately, they no longer brew their own beer there, and are arranging to have their beer contract brewed at Santa Maria Brewing up the road.
I had visited the new Taproom at Firestone-Walker Brewing in Paso Robles for lunch on my trip south. The new taproom has all the F-W beers on draft and offers excellent fare from a simple menu.
On my way home, I stopped again in Paso Robles to visit a friend I worked with over 25 years ago, and haven’t seen in more than 20 years. We had a great time catching up and reminding each other of good times past.
I made it home with no incidents, and backed the teardrop into the driveway like I knew what I was doing ;-)