Beer Camp

Big Lagoon County Park Campground A craft-beer road story
This story will be again an ode the USFS, the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture, which made it possible for us to camp in unique settings and a pristine environment , in forests, lakes and wide expanses of wilderness. What I like in the USFS' web of campgrouds is that some of them are above radar, easy to find through a web search (and often full in summer) while others seem to be intentionally hidden from a superficial search, and you discover them only by daringly venturing deep into the given forests and wilderness, be they state managed, regional or national. Thanks to these unsuspected facilities, we found several times a place to stay at the last minute when every listed campground had the feared sign "campground full" at its door (weekends near the bay area or major cities for example). We not only found unexpected vacancy in these discreet campgrounds (home at last!) but also havens of peace that would have been fully booked if advertised some way or another on the Internet.

This story is also an ode to craft beer, as instead of wine we mostly had beer in the evening with our barbecue, and that was the opportunity to sample the large choice of craft beer found now in the United States. It was hot and anyway for the same budget we'd have had a poor selection of wines, so beer made more sense. We'd buy routinely corn, vegetables, beer and beef in the evening and put it all in the styrofoam icebox in the back of the car, a deserved evening treat after a long road. Beef in America is much more tasty than what we get in a basic retail in France. Safeway was our main source, and I even took my first supermarket customer card here in the U.S. (I never took any in France in spite of the pushy cashiers), as the rebates are so important there, like 7,2, $ for a big piece of meat without the card (already a good value for the weight compared to what you'd get in France) and 4,3 with the card. Kudos to Safeway !

Camping is not only cheaper than motels, it's like an unfiltered, uncorrected drink, you get all the breeze, the smell of dew on the bushes and the positive vibes from the telluric depths, and it all makes for a great sleep in the midst of mother Nature. You can look back at those wonderful places and say, I was there, I was part of this magic. So, let's pack the camping gear into the car, put the music on, and take the road !

Let's roll !

Big Lagoon County Park Campground (north of Arcata, CA)
This campground was situated along the water (possibly a lagoon) with a nice temperature for swimming. The bottom was a bit muddy from what I remember but you soon had depth enough to swim. Some vacationers did some caoneing or sailing on miniature sailboats, familes still enjoying this late 4th of july weekend. We drove down to Arcata to fill up the tank which was nearly empty (I still managed to do close to 450 miles with a tank that day). This was quite a distance but we could this way also buy some nice meat at Safeway, with the ritual couple of beers...

__ This Lagunitas Lucky 13 (8,63 % alc.) at 4,5 $ + 7 % tax (this is California) is made by Lagunitas Brewing Co. In Petaluma, California. 1 Pint 6 Fl. Oz.
Smooth beer but with some sort of bitterness, like Chimay Blue, says my travel buddy. The brewery says that (it's on on label) it's heroes are : Chico's Brewer of California Best Pale Ale, the Noble Brewer of the planet's only legal Steam Beer, and Oregon's Rebel Brewer from Newport.
The meat to go with this was terrific : Ranchers Reserve Beef Round Tip Steak cap off thin (label on the packaging) net weight 1,2 lb (for 2 pieces) unit price 5,99 $/lb and net price with Safeway card 5,39 $. Tender and tasty meat, as an European and a Frenchman, I'm delighted. A guy plays guitar with his family in front of his motorhome a few meters from our site, facing the water, and we listen to a couple of great country songs.

__ The 2nd beer was Arrogant Bastard Ale "You're Not Worthy", a bitter beer with mokka or coffee aromas. 1 pint 6 fl.oz. We can read these lines on the label : This is an agressive beer – you probably won't like it […] We would suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory __ maybe something with a multi-million- dollar ad campaign aimed at convincing you it's made in little brewery [etc...]
Ingredients : nothing but the finest barley, most agressive hops, clearest water, our proprietary yeast strain and abundant arrogance...
Siuslaw Nat. Forest, Alder Dune Campground Siuslaw National Forest Alder Dune Campground (north of Florence, OR)
This is a few minutes up north from Florence, Oregon, a nice campround with dry toilets, no showers but lakes with nice water to swim in, and for the daily needs like kitchen and laundry there were water spigots here and there. 22 $ a day per site, good deal, peaceful campsite, tall trees, shade, nice feel. Our site was just opposite to the one of the camp manager, an elderly man living in his trailer with his wife. They had tons of wood for sale (4 $ a bunch, even if on the pic on left it says 5$) for barbecue use. We'll have been able to make fires in the BBQ in all of these campgrounds, even when the area was very dry and with fire danger on "high", proving that the USFS trusts its visitors for the careful management of their barbecues, and I'm sure none of these wilderness fires ever start in a campground barbecue.
There was so much dry and broken pieces of wood on the ground that we didn't need buy any wood (irremissibly French).
My LG mobile phone (not a smart phone), a strategic tools for the planned visits that I had bought with unlimited talk at Walmart, was loosing energy all the time even when I didn't use it and I was always obliged to look for a place to plug it, in a coffee shop or elsewhere, so I walked to the manager's trailer asking if I could plug it to their grid, which his wife agreed kindly. I was to find later a cigarette lighter plug to charge it permanently in the car.
__ Boatswain Double I.P.A. Twin Screw Steamer (I.P.A. goes for India Pale Ale), 650 ml ; 8,4 alc. ; 1,99 $ (no tax in Oregon). Rhinelander Brewin Co. LLC in Monroe WI 53566
For some reason I haven't put down notes on this beer, probably the inauguration's emotion. Giant Redwoods RV & Campground Giant Redwoods RV & Campground, Myers Flat, CA
We were looking for a regular State Forest/Park campground, the Forgotten Springs Campground, when we fell upon this private place . The owner has a cool demeanor and was convincing enough by telling it was cheaper (30 $) than the State Park Campground (35 $) and that the showers were free (no tokens), plus he guaranteed that Rvs weren't allowed to use their noisy generators here, and on top of that, they had wifi... I signed right away... The guy said he'd been in the Navy, stationned in Yakasuka and Okinawa among other places . The weather was perfect in this campground and region of California, dry and warm in the day and cool in the evening & night, with this gentle breeze blowing along the river, the South Fork Eeel river, one of the nicest rivers I came across during this trip. The campground had its own beach and the water was perfect to swim, not cold at all, and cristal clear with fish coming and going...
We bought beer at the market « downtown » in the village nearby, a grocery store that was a bit dilapidated and a bit overpriced, but the next shop was 20 miles down the road. We found basis there : groundbeef, just what we needed to get our dose of energy. The girl at the cashier was friendly . We bought beer of course.

__ The 1st beer was a Busch Classic at 1,59 $ volume of 25 oz (one offered), not familiar with these volume units but it seems to make a bit more than 60 centiliters. Couldn't find the alcohol level. Refreshing beer, a change from the dark beers of the last days. Fine print : There is nothing artificial in this product. Brewed from water, barley malt, cereal grains, hops and yeast. Anheuser-Busch, St Louis Missouri

__ The 2nd, Eel River I.P.A. "certified organic" is an India Pale Ale and it is made in Northern California, in Scotia, CA by Eel River Brewing Company.
Nice taste with a cherry aroma and a pleasant bitterness. There's something that I like in this beer ! Alcohol was said to be 7,2 % . Cost 3,99 in this grocery store. Stumptown Brewery - Guerneville (Mary-Ann) Guerneville, Russian River (California)
Northern California has no need to say, a vibrant craft-beer culture, it goes well with both its winemaking history and also its rebel do-your-booze-yourself tradition. According to Ken Weaver who wrote The Northern California Craft Beer Guide (you can leaf this book), in the 1960s' and 1970s', Northen California was at the forefront of a change on the beer field, and craft beer was carrying this culture in search of authenticity and real products.

We fell upon the Stumpton Brewery as we were looking for something fun after setting up our tents in a campground nearby Guerneville. We looked for a place to sit and have a glass, and here was this venue with lots of people inside, a couple of funny signs outside like "Motorcycles only - All Others Will be Towed", or "Dogs & Hippies, Use Side Door", and I didn't fully realized it was a brewery until inside where i saw behind a glass door the small facility. Thee a few people there including bikers if I remember (they had probably read the two signs..), and we sat down in the large wooden terrace in the back, their Bier Garten. I took a Bush-Wacker Wheat and my friend a Rat Bastard Pale Ale, I think these were our respective tastes, I haven't comments but this was a nice way to quench our thirst. A beer cost 4 $, which was OK considering the quality.

Otherwise we had a couple of beers at the campground, bur they weren't as interesting as these. In case you want to camp near Guerneville on the Russian river, our campground was the Schoolhouse Canyon Campground, a family managed campground with features, uniforms and signs that mimick the USFS facilities. It's right next to the highway 116 under very tall trees, redwoods I suppose, so tall that it's quite dark there under even in the day time. The night was quite cold in the tent and you uinderstand why it's a good region for vinegrowing. One critic I'd make is that the traffic has probably increased a lot on this highway since the campground was founded, making it a not-so-quiet place to stay. The good point : they have a private access to the Russian River on the other side of the road and we swimmed there (the water is not cold at all), there were a few other families from the campground and it was very nice. Sly Park Recreation Area Campground Sly Park Resort (east of Sacramento)
We arrived in the area after a nice journey departing from Oregon House, CA, going thorough a scenic landscape along highway 49 south bound to somerset in the El Dorado County. Goldrush villages here and there, still breathing authenticity or faking it. Huge forests too, cattle ranches, houses here and there nestled under the trees, a California dreamland. Only that the temperature outside the car is punishing (96 ° F or a bit more). Near somerset we stop at a liquor store to ask directions about a possible campground in the area, a guy with an aging Japanese car tell us there's one ahead but that it 's expensive with all the tourists coming here, adding that it was almost free long time ago. He offers to show us the way as he's driving this way.
the Sly Park Resort campground is almost booked up for the weekend but we can have a site, if only for a night, we're relieved. 30 $. The campground is big and well tended, it's right near Jenkinson Lake. No showers, only toilets and water spigots.
__ Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, « purest ingredients » 24 Fl. Oz. Brewed and bottled by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Chico, Nevada. Nicely bitter, the beer was still easy to drink, without this heaviness that often comes with this type of beer. The reason was maybe that the alcohol level is only 5,6 % here.
That evening we had organic zuchini purchased in the middle of nowhere, in a shack where you had to just slip your money in a box for what you took and note down in an open book, there was no one around. Reminds me when you just had to put the money for the newspaper and pick a copy from the pile. 2 zucchinis 1,25 $ and 6 eggs 2 $. We bought the meat at Raley's, an enormous Beef Chuck Cross Rib Steal Boneless at 2,77/lb unit price, total was 5,29 $ for the 1,91 lb, and even for two guys that was a lot. I understand why Americans eat lots of meat.
__ the 2nd well-deserved treat that evening was the Trousseau from Arnot & Roberts, they had given us this wonderful wine and instead of keeping it for later I chose to selfishly open the bottle. this was something, the wine had been kept fresh thanks to the icebox, and the occasional bumps on the road hadn't pushed it into hiding in its shell. You just have to look at the color, all the magic perspires through this translucent red. Lake Amador Resort Campground Lake Amador Resort (south-east of Sacramento)
We found this campground/recreation Area by chance, it was not on the maps. It's probably a State-Forest managed area, with the usual gate booth and facilities. I was beginning to stress as it was getting late and we had not found a place yet, but the GPS indicated that a couple of campgrounds were in the immediate area. I had stopped in an old-fashioned grocery store at the intersection of Old Valley road & Buena Vista road, this grocery was the type of store I love to walk into even if I haven't anything to buy. The Mexican owner told us of Lake Amador campground a short distance ahead and we soon found this recreation area around a reservoir.

This campground was the perfect out-of-the-way place with plenty of available sites even on a friday evening, proving that being off the map has good sides for the daring traveller who is not afraid to travel without reservations booked all the way (I can't imagine travelling with your schedule booked from A to Z anyway...). The view over the lake on arrival was impressing, and we wren't put off by this blue sign intended to warn that they didn't want troublemakers there, and the place was great and welcoming. It seems it was a fishing spot, you could lauch your boat and go fishing. They even had a huge coffee shop-bar in the campground with several very kind women doing the service, and some of the patrons looked like they were workers or farmers living in the area. Up on the wall, there was this long line of stuffed heads, elks, deers and other wild animals. The next morning we had nice pancakes there, it was open from very early in the morning and closed very late in the evening. The fee was 30 $ and showers were included. the ground was bare and dry but this is the drought here.

After setting up the tents we drove back to a Save Mart in town to buy a few things, organic chicken, fresh corn to grill on the bbq, and two beers. But we had also these 2 great bottles of La Clarine that Hank had handed us as we parted after our visit, and after a couple of sips on the beers I turned to the wine.

__ Blue Moon, "Belgian White", « Belgian-style wheat Ale ». 5,4 % 22 Fl-Oz or 650 ml (at least, now I know the volume because the label gives the decimal) or One Pint 6 Fl-Oz. Nice beer with a taste reminding (for me) the HefeWeiss Bier. Great drink, I vote for it ! Costs 3,49 $. in Godden, Colorado.

__ The Mourvèdre from La Clarine : A few hours after having been opened (but safely stored until then in the styrofoam icebox on the back seats), still this unusual freshness, the easy drinkability and this dust feel, what a pleasure to swallow, It goes down smoothly and gently... If I had ever imagined that I'd drink one day a mourvèdre from California as apéritif... I love this job. Coarsegold KOA campground KOA Coarsegold, CA (south-west of Yosemite).
Not really the ideal campground, it was dusty, the ground was hard and unwelcome, and there was no fire pit on our site, but I notice that during each of my motorized camping trips in the U.S ; I manage to end up at one time or another in a KOA. More than once would be a problem but one time is bearable, and we're happy the follwing night to find the standards of the Forest Service, because even when they don't have showers there, their campgrounds are grand.
We were actually that evening on the verge of finding nothing and having to look for motels, which would have had all the chance to be fully booked either, and very expensive in the other case, because Yosemite was not so far and it was the end of the week, so you understand that I was getting nervous when it's 7pm and the chances of finding vacancy seemed to thin out. We had checked a campground after Oakhurst but it was predictably full, the highway to Yosemite was right there, too predictable on a saturday. Then I found through asking an RV park near a golf on hwy 49 east but in spite of plenty of vacancy the elderly host was not cooperative even for a single night (only RVs here !) and not particularly friendly (RVs versus tents I guess), but no problem, I'll remember in my next life, be sure of that. I drove back in the direction of Oakhurst and took the way south to Fresno, my travel mate aldo looking for any sign of hope on both sides of the road, and just outside Coarsegold I stopped along the road when I spotted three people chatting outside their cars. Ieteke who was one of these people (she says she has Dutch ancestors, that's why her strange name) tells me that there's a KOA just a couple of miles down the road south, and in case we don't find or if it's full, she give me her phone number, she says with a laugh that she once had French travellers ask her permission to set up their tent on her lawn, as they also hadn't found any vacant site in the campgrounds. There was vacancy in the KOA, and I was almost sorry, so I called Ieteke to tell there that thanks to her we had found our refuge... We had had time before looking for campgrounds to buy a few things to eat and drink in a Vons supermarket.
__ Long Hammer I.P.A. Red Hook 6,2 % « Bold ». Costs less than 3 $ if I remember. Bottled 19:25 - 3 june 2013 – Red Hook Ale Brewery, Woodinville, WA ; Portsmouth NH and Portland OR « A big fan of dry hopping, which sounds much dirtier than it is ».
Smooth, sugary beer, I feel it as being too high in alcohol at first, but that passes after some time.
__ Gen. Sherman IPA. Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company, India Pale Ale. 1 pint 6 Fl-Oz.
Tioga Sequoia Brewing Co, Fresno, CA 7,5 % alc. Cost less than 4 $.
The Gen. Sequoia tree in Sequoia National Park is a 274 feet tall sequoia, 102 feet in circumference, the largest tree on earth... Gen Sherman I.P.A., like its namesake, has no equal...
Nice aromas of orange, lemon peel, quite surprising. I wonder what they did to get this aroma style. A rather refreshing beer otherwise. Lake Casitas Recreation Area campground Lake Casitas Recreation area (South of Santa Barbara)
Superb route that day, a festival of diverse landscapes with desert emptiness, intensive agriculture of various crops, bare mountains and a valley covered with rigs, this all with very little trafic.
My intent was to camp in the valley between Vertucopa and Ojai but we failed to find proper campground in the valley/gorge, the only one we found was off the road and needed a pass from the Forest Service (from what a woman and her daughter standing near their tent told us), plus we hadn't any booze for the evening and the next shop was 30 miles down the road, which happened to be the real reason we didn't stay there (I wouldn't have bothered not having a pass for a single night in this free campground in the middle of nowhere). We had water (2 gallons) and food, but no beer, that was a problem.
We ended up setting up our tents in the Lake Casitas Recreation campground which was tipped to us by the nice door girl of a restaurant downtown Ojai. 25 $ a tent site but showers cost an additional 1$ for 5 minutes. We had a nice spot (D3) with large circumvoluted trees. I washed myself on the large rocks near my tent, as there was a water spigot not far, that was so good (and the shower was almost a kilometer away)... We had bought that long-awaited booze a Vons in Ojai (my Safeway card works there also!).

__ Bud Light Platinum. 22 Fl-Oz, 1 pint 6 Fl. Oz. Lager A-B, St Louis, Mo. 6 % alc.
Tastes a bit like gazeified water, much less pleasant than the draft beer that we had in this Bagdad-Cafe-like place in the middle of nowhere along the Petroleum highway, This was in a hamlet with 3 or 4 buildings in the desert, Mc Kittrick, definitely stop there if you drive through the area. I first walked into the general store, in front of which I had spotted the woman working there smoking a cigarette in an armchair. This was another of these country general stores wuith patina and I bought a pair of work gloves, she had dozens of models for the oil-rig workers I suppose Next we walked into the other venue, a diner and hotel : Oakwood Hotel & Café. Man, that was a magic place, it was looking like unchanged since the 60s' and the 3 women working there were lovely. I was imagining the hotel upstairs and sadly forgot to ask the rates. Next time I'll stay there, that must be an experience. The draft Bud was so good I should have asked for another one but I was driving and was also anxious to find a campground further south. But this place remains as one of the highlights of this trip.

__ Fat Tire Amber Ale. New Belgium. Brewed & bottled by New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins, Co.
The label reads : Fat Tire Amber Ale's appeal is in its feat of balance : toasty, biscuit-like malt flavors, coasting in equilibrium with happy freshness. I'm not sure I understand this tasting note wholly but my feel is that this beer has something right in it, I can swear it after swallowing, that's one of the beers I preferred in this whole trip. 5,2 % alc. And note that : New Belgium Brewing Company is wind powered and employee owned.
»The brewery was named in honnor of a storied bike ride through Europe » Santa Margarita Lake Recreation Area Sta Margarita Recreation Area (east of San Luis Obispo)
Santa Margarita is a nice small community in the hills south of Paso Robles, this is the sort of place I love, not yet remodelled by the influx of urbanites in search for a new life in the California heartland. We had asked for a campground and some one told us about a KOA in the vicinity of Santa Margarita Lake, at quite a distance from town, but fortunately there was an other option, a recreation area along the lake devoted to fishing and water skiing. The campground is one of the best values we had, 25 $ for a tent site, brand new showers which were free, and a small swimming pool (free access too) which helped go around the fact that you couldn't swim in the reservoir as it was a drinking-water supply. This is yet another great campground which is not easilmy found on a random search when you don't already know its name. There was also lots ow wildlife there as we saw in the same evening these bambis and a wandering skunk, all right near our tents.

That evening we got sausage that we bought at one of the two groweries of Santa Margarita. The lady over there was not very smiling but her sausage were terrific for the BBQ. We also bought her a beer for 5 $.

__ Sierra Nevada Torpedo extra IPA, Ale. "Purest ingredients", "finest quality". Brewed & bottled by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Chico, CA.A bitter, caramel type of beer, a bit too strong for me, hard to finish. 1 pint 8 Fl. Oz. 7,2 % alc.
Earlier that evening we had had a very local beer from Paso Robles at a saloon-like venue, the Sta Margarita Tavern, with a long counter bar with plenty of locals chatting, some with a stetson (the region is cattle & ranch country).

__ But that evening we had also a pinot noir from Clendenen Family Vineyards, a 2008 Santa Maria Valley pinot noir. The ice in our styrofoam ice box on the back seat of the Dodge had exceeded its two-day lifespan and the bottle hadn't kept really cold, but the wine was nonetheless lovely.
__ And the ultimate treat was the heavy bottle with a triangular label : Au Bon Climat Isabelle pinot noir 2010, with an almost anonymous origin : California. 2010 & 2011 have been unusually rainy and temperate vintages in CA, which put off some vintners, but have proved to be a blessing for those who know how to farm their vineyard and when to pick. Lake Chabot Regional Park Lake Chabot Regional Park campground, Oakland (California)
Long day, following hwy 1 along Big Sur up to San Jose and Oakland, the GPS zeroed on Lake Chabot Park campground, beautifully nestled atop a hill overlooking the namesake lake which you could reach by foot following a steep trail. I didn't expect finding such an outdoor marvel this close to the Bay area and Oakland, this city having from afar has a reputation for being not very safe. We sort o drove through Oakland and it seemed fine, if not as rich as San Francisco and other communities of the region. It takes 40 minutes to drive from this campground to downtwon San Francisco, which is quite good.
the Lake Chabot campground benefits from the shade of tall eucalyptus trees ; our spot (# 69) was at the very end of a campground wing and it had direct view oner the lake. There had been some trees cleared off recently and it was easy to pick debris of wood and dead branches for the bbq fire. I had reserved over the phone for 2 nights (there was no more room for the 3rd intended night, so we still were lucky). The cost was 22$ per site and day, a bargain this close to San Fran, and hot showers were included, in addition to the toilets and water spigots.
We had been in a Asian restaurant somewhere in the way and the portions were big, so we brought the rest for dinner, not very sophisicated but it filled us.
__ Beer One : Budweiser 24 Fl Oz. A bit disappointing again compared to a draft beer of the same brand.
__ Beer Two : Lagunitas Imperial Stout (with hammer & sicle on both sides of the word Stout) "unlimited release". Brewed and bottled by the lagunitas Brewery Co. Petaluma, California. "Doggone Good" 9,9 % by vol. The beer is dark like black coffee, and a bit syrupy, to be frank. The label has a weird and supposedly funny prose on the side discoursing about the czar & the czarina, the proletariat and so on. To paraphrase this text (in its very words), I find the beer big, black, bourgeois, bolshoy, belligerent, buxom and scary - this is our version of the chaotic end of an era in a bottle. Lake Chabot Regional Park day #2 Lake Chabot Regional Park campground, Oakland (California)
Crazy day in San Francisco, playing tourists and walking through the city from near 5th street & Folsom, all the way to Fisherman's Wharf, then strolling along streets back to downtown through Japan Town. The city is thrilling there's a quality of air, the energy, the town houses, even the homeless and strange characters on the sidewalk seem (everyone of them) to have a great story in their life. A breath of fresh air for an urban European in my opinion.

We bought the beers at a crazy beer venue next to terroir (2 minutes on foot) : City Beer 1188 Folsom St (see other pictures from the venue), a buzzing shop/beer bar full of young people and older people too, happy with their beer. On the side, almost like in Le Verre Volé, there was a wall of bottles, just that it was not wine but artisan beers. I read that they have over here 300 different craft beers avalable in bottles and 6 draft beers. A must-visit place if you come to Terroir (but maybe in separate days because mixing wine and beer may not be the best thing to do). Exact address : 1168 Folsom St, San Francisco.
With the development of craft beer in the U.S. you're likely to see more and more of these venues, the beer here maybe be more expensive than industrially-produced beer (usually 4 $ a glass) but it's really different, although I had also surprisingly-good mainstream beers on draft (it's obviously not the same product than in bottles or cans).

__ Ranger India Pale Ale. Alc. 6 % by Vol. 1 pint 6 Fl.Oz. 3,99 $. Brewed & bottled by New Belgium Brewing – Fort Collins, Co.
»Imbibe in bitterly funny videos on youtube : search NBBFILMS »
Pleasant bitter beer with a taste not overwhelmed by alcohol and syrup.Again a good feel from a New Belgium beer, they get a new fan here. The beer makes you feel gently high and not smashed.

__ Shipyard, Monkey Fist IPA. 3,99$, 6,9 % by vol. 1 pint 6 Fl.Oz. India Pale Ale. Brewed and bottled by Shipyard Brewing Co. LLC, Portland, Maine.
this beer has a bitterness that comes forward but not in the back of the mouth, making it an easier beer to drink. It gives the beer a smooth finish, which is very enjoyable. The label says : […] this beer is brilliant copper in color and exploding with Warrior, Glacier, and Cascade hop character but able to maintain a beautiful balance. […]
I think there's some truth in that...

There's yet a 3rd venue near Terroir that is worth the detour if you're into coffee (not particularly my case), it's Sightglass, a loft-like space where you can have refined home-roasted coffee from exotic and exclusive locations. You can stand downstairs or walk up on the mezzanine with a full view over the whole venue. I have a video of the place somewhere that I should download some day. The place is managed by two brothers, Justin and Jerad Morrison, and even on the standards of San Francisco which are high, this place stands out. Mount Diablo State Park campground Mount Diablo State Park, Clayton, California
We had a close call that day, I had targetted the Del Valle Park campground but when I called I was told that the campground was soldout, so I opted for the one of Mount Diablo near Clayton, CA. We headed there without knowing wether there was vacancy or not. To add to the suspense and as we were thinking we had reached our temporary home for the night, I realized that we had approached Mount Diablo Park from the wrong side, this was a day-only area, there was obviously no camping facility on this side and we had to find the way around the mountain range for the north gate entry, where we were said the campground was located. I asked for directions randomly near a gas station in Clayton, walking inside a bicycle shop, and the guys there were very helpful, giving precise directions as well as handing me a detailed bicycle-tour map where the north gate was visible.
This campground is a great place, very high elevation with superb view on the whole region from the road leading to the campground. Therre was indeed available sites in the campground, nobody must know this place, that's why, but on a saturday evening I wasn't really sure we would find anything, especially this near from san Francisco. So, excellent campground, trees, view, large distance between individual sites. Downside : no showers, only water spigots, real toilets (not dry) and sinks. Cost : 30 $ a site (remember that in the US you can be a party of 8 people with two cars and still pay only 30 $). We had been wise enough to shop at a Safeway in Clayton, usual shopping list with corn, meat, zuchini & beers.
[I am so sorry to learn that a large fire has destroyed 3700 acres in the area september 7 to 9 and I hope it's under control now]

__ Modelo Cerveza Especial (Mexico). Brewed in Mexico since 1926. 24 Fl.Oz. Or 710 ml, or 1 pint 8 Fl.Oz. At least with the Mexicans you know the whole range of metric units. I didn't find the alcohol content here on the can. Probably something around 5°.Refreshing beer, the kind I like to have in the warm evening in the Clayton heights (even at 8pm you could be in short sleeves & shorts). I think we paid 2,99 $ for this beer. Reasonably average beer, nothing special in spite of its name.
The park ranger at the gate had told us about a few rules, fire allowed but only with charcoal, not wood... and no alcohol in the Park. I had read somewhere a week before while having breakfast about an alcohol ban in effect in recreation areas, here it was (maybe on weekends only). But the campground environment was eerily quiet and remote and we took our bottles out, putting them back in the styrofoam icebox anyway eachtime to keep them cold.

__ Bear Republic, Racer 5, India Pale Ale, "independant since 1995". 7 % alc. 1 Pt 6 Fl.Oz. Brewed & bottled by Bear Republic Brewing Co Inc., Healdsburg Cloverdale, CA. Racer 5 is an agressive styled India Pale Ale. Handmade from a brewery whose motto is "bigger is better"[...] Keep cold, respect life, don't D+D, real ale is alive, yeast is good, serve at 45-50 ° F. Sonoma County Ales, 345 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg, CA.
Yet another of these bitter IPAs, why are all these breweries making this type of beer, I have to look into that, the taste is again very caramel like, some coffee too. Not my style of beer but at least I'll have tried a few of them.
Back in France I did a bit of research about why IPA beers are so common in the U.S. First, read this page about the history of IPA. And about why has IPA become so pular here, this forum page offers different answers, I note one by someone who goes under the ID SanDiego : Americans like anything that is over salty, over sweet, over battered, over portioned. Therefore, they like beer that is over hopped. IPA's are to beer as Chardonnay is to wine. And another contributor going under the name of Chickenhawk993 says : I wonder sometimes if the love of IPAs is looking like a love of spicy foods. I grew up hating spicy foods because I experienced them done poorly. After living in Louisiana and having spicy food done right, I developed a craving for it. I have had authentic Indian curie which was awesome, and I had some amazing Mexican food down in Morelia that made my taste buds sizzle and left me wondering why Mexican food state side could not even come close. Still, most people I know that "love" spicy foods want to brag about something that melts your face and leaves you incapable of tasting anything. I've noticed this with IPAs - when done right it is a delightful experience that awakens your taste buds, when done poorly it is a game of: "can you handle this? I can." Which is sad.
To go with these beers we had another great meat from safeway, 1,43 lb for 4,28 $ (plus tax). Great value and great barbecue... Bothe-Napa State Park Bothe Napa State Park, St Helena, California
We had arrived in Napa from the region of Livermore, after failing to attend a gun sho in Vallejo : we had seen a sign on the road for it and switched the GPS to Vallejo, but when we arrived on the grounds of the gun show at 4pm they were already packing... I had never been to a gun show and this seemed a good opportunity, if unplanned, to correct that.
I had called the Bothe Napa State Park campground a couple days before and the woman on the phone was confident that I didn't need to reserve to get a tent site, but I was still not sure. We actually got a tent site right away, it was 5pm when we reached the park just north of St Helena, it was a sunday, I guess an easier day to find vacancy compared to a friday or a saturday. I more or less recognized the park where B., Ken and I spent a night or two a few years ago, the park was as quiet, with the same pristine forest and respectful campers. But beware of poison oak, and I remember that in this very park the first time we stayed there, Alder (Vinography) told us to make sure we don't touch these particular leaves that can harm you durably. While driving along the highway in Napa I could see that there was more flamboyant wineries with their parking lots and tasting rooms to receive visitors in a grand way... On the menu that evening, sausages on bbq, corn (simple, but delicious dish, grilled on the fire), and aubergine, plus cuncumber salad.
__Steel Reserve 211 "The Steel Brewing Company" Milwaukee, WI. Slow brewed for exceptional flavor, extra malted Barley & select hops for extra gravity. The two eleven mark, based on the medieval symbol for steel, appears only on Steel Reserve high gravity Lager, we use nearly twice the ingredients of many normal lagers & brew for over twice as long as many quality beers.
I did not find the alcohol level here but it seems over 6. Tastes a bit too sweet at the first sip but it might pass the test on the 2nd sip. I think that as a tap beer it must be much better than it is now in bottle. We paid 1,69 $ 24 Fl.Oz. Third mouth and swallow : definitely too sweet and syrupy.
__ Lagunitas Hop Stupid Ale. Brewed & bottled by the Lagunitas Brewing Co., Petaluma, California. Quite concentrated but still with room for pleasure, somehow lighter than many India Pale Ale beers (this is one, apparently). The bitterness is fine here, must be terrific on tap. The vertical fine print on the label has another of these fancy proses , this one dealing with Hop Stupid, When it crossed his teeth and came in contact with the bitterness flavor receptors on his tongue, his eyes rolled back in his head, he did sort of a death rattle, a cloud crossed the Sun, an all his hair fell out. A spot on the side of his cheek blistered and a little bit of juice squirted out laterally starting a small fire. The rest of his head did the Indiana Jones melting Nazi thing, and as his head drained down his shirt and into the open stump of his esophagus, a little whistling noise came from the navel, which burst open and onto his pals, one in the forehead and the other in the eye. Finally, the carcass slumped forward in a gelatinous mess, caught fire, and burned for three weeks. It's not a beer label, it's a sinopsis... 8 % alc. 1 pint 6Fl.Oz. 4,99 $. Lake Juanita Campground Lake Juanita campground (North-Central California)
This was in Northern California, we had driven through agriculture lands under 100 to 103 ° F, then the hills replaced the flatland, with higher altitudes and great landscapes with a vegetation of indigenous bushes and plants with an intense smell. We did a long stretch on the Interstate heading North to put some distance behind us, we didn't use much the Interstates during this trip, but with a good radio station at hand and a look on what's going on around, it's also fun. By the way this video (more interesting for the music than for the images) that I shot all the while driving along I-5 that day shows the great music we had most of the time, be it rock, country or Mexicana (Vincente Fernandez and similar) ....I'm driving at 65/70 here (the max allowed) and most people would pass me. Compared to France, the U.S. is very relaxing, I've never come across a fixed radar or even a mobile hand-held radar, and I've been speeding at times, up to 80 miles/hour when limited to 55. Many people drive actually above the limit (except maybe in towns) without the permanent obsession of radars. Here is a country (a change from France) where the police is busy doing its primary job, that is fighting crime, and not like in France where the authorities are spending an enormous amount of energy for the purpose of extolling money from law-abiding citizens when they drive. The skyrocketing crime rates in France are there to remind us this paradox.
In case you want to listen to this great music again, it's The Awakening, by Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real. Lukas is the son of Willie Nelson. Even cruising on the bland I-5 seemed a great experience with this music all around...
We left the I-5 for hwy 97 NE toward Klamath Falls, there were few vehicules there, some trucks, a very nice and quiet road. We bought some groceries including some booze in Weed as we were leaving the Interstate; We looked for a campground along hwy 97 and we found one just south of Macdoel, near a tiny lake, Lake Juanita. Beautiful campground, the lake was so nice with forested mountains all around, got time to swim before dark (the lake was just a few meters from our site), great experience. And cost only 15 $ for a site. good to remember for a base in the region. No showers but dry toilets and water spigots, and you could swim in the lake anytime, the water wasn't cold. Apparently a little-known campground, only one comment on Yelp.
__ Widmer Brothers Brewing Hefeweizen. "The Brothers of Invention, Uncompromised and Unfiltered" 1 pint 6Fl.Oz. (22 Fl.Oz.) Made in Portland Oregon. April 2013. No alcohol information. (bottling time I guess).
I think I already got this beer somewhere. Turbid and very balanced in the mouth Goes down pretty well. they should make more Hefeweizen beers over here, they are very refreshing and easy to swallow.
__Raspberry Brown, Lost Coast Brewery. Brown Ale with natural raspberry flavor. 1 pint 6 Fl.Oz. Made by Lost Coast Brewery & Café -- 617 4th street, Eureka, CA."A chocolate Brown Ale with the essence of ripe red raspberries, made with malted barley, chocolate and caramel malts, hops and natural raspberry flavor. Raspberry Brown is perishable -- keep refrigerated and drink when fresh". No alcohol level info. Tastes caramel, this is a smooth and velvety drink. doesn't seem very high in alcohol, could be around 6 %. Nice one.
that day we had another nice beef meat, "certified Angus Beef, so tender & juicy it's a cut above all other Angus beef" (certifiedAngusbeef.com). The meat wasn't very expensive at this small market store and this "Beef Loin Bo Horn Sirloin tri-tip Steak" cost only 4,96 $ for a weight of 0,71 lb (6,99/lb).

Now, if you need a place to eat in the area, if you just drive through, make sure to stop in Doris on highway 97 not fat from the Oregon border, it's maybe 15 miles away from Lake Juanita and it's just a bunch of buildings along the road, the typical spot in the middle of nowhere that I love : There's a gem of a coffee shop there, diner-style, named A slice of Heaven, where you'll be happy to spend some time. We had a great breakfast there, very friendly staff, hearty food and one of these hugely long rooms with tons of seats. They have wifi. Watch the (apparently closed but still full of stuff) thrift shop next door... Redmond Fairgrounds RV Park Redmond Fairgrounds RV park (Redmond, OR)
Earlier that day we had a nice drive through forested areas south of Bend. We reached our night spot near Redmond further north, in Eastern Oregon, and it was to be probably the less charming campground we've ever had during this trip, but it was brand new and the amenities were up to date and very comfortable, including electricity and wifi. We could have taken the road further but we weren't sure to find another campground before dark. This RV Park had a few tent sites at its very end but it was obviously more into RVs, and were were the only tents over there. Conveniently located next to the Expo Center(Redmond fairgrounds) it was probably sought after for people visiting Redmond and the fairs. We set up the tents on the freshly-watered grass (the woman at the office had assured us that her husband would turn off the automatic sprinkler), but as there was no shade at all and as it was still 94 ° F, we waited some time and drove in town for shopping first. Costs only 22 $ a site.
We bought these beers at a Walmart in Redmond, and I was surprised at the large beer choice there, and very cheap too, especially that there is no VAT in Oregon.

__ Swill Beer, by 10 barrel Brewing Co. in Bend Oregon since '06. "Beer guy, stop taking yourself seriously, our Swill was designed to throw down ! We started with a base of a German Berliner Weiss and added multiple layers of citrus. Fun, delicious and easy to drink" 1 pint 6 Fl.Oz. Alc. 4-5 % [sic]. tastes fun indeed, like some sort of fancy soda, like if it had been added some sort of flavor. Light beer, goes down easily, persistent flavor in the mouth. Costs 3,28 $.

__ Cyclops IPA (India Pale Ale), by Cascade Lakes Brewing Company in Redmond, Oregon. Walmart carries also local products, folks...
"for the hop-obsessed beast in all of us, we present Cyclops the one-eye P.A. The substancial gravilty of this IPA is met by a cornucopia of five hop varieties, which yield striking flavor and aroma The result is one of the more balanced and aromatic IPA offerings you'll wrap your hands around".
Oregon rocks This IPA is much more drinkable than the many one I came across, it's even very enjoyable The velvety side of the beer is more forward than the bitterness, there's not this heavuness found in many IPAs. Take notice, brewers, Cascade Lakes Brewing is coming... First, a beer, then the ammo... Crescent, Oregon
We came across a funny beer-related thing earlier that day, as we also stopped to buy a beer in a gun shop, not something you do at every corner I guess, this was in Crescent, Central Oregon in the vicinity of La Pine (a funny-sounding name for a French, but don't count on me to explain why...), and this place along the road was selling wine, beer... and guns, so we stopped just to see that, we usually never bought booze during the day except just before camping.

Thinking to the odd assortment of commodities sold in this place, I was wondering if you'd usually buy first the gun & ammo, then the booze, or the other way around... The order may have consequences in certain circumstances, making an explosive mix. This said, unlike most Europeans I have no strong opinion on the issue of gun ownership in the U.S.

There were a few newspaper clippings pinned outside on the wall near the door seeming to imply they hadn't a positive feel about their President there. We pushed the door and the lady at the cashier was very friendly and we chatted a while with her and with a local young customer who seemed also to be just visiting. We looked around at the liquid goods as well as at the hardware displayed on the shelves, these things are not that expensive actually. We ended up buying a beer (a flavored beer, not very good) for the fun of it and just to say that we contributed to the business for their time. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture inside, sometimes I'm too self-restrained... Barley Brown's, Baker City, Oregon Baker City, Eastern Oregon
Baker City is my kind of town, this is a real place, both historic and with an authentic feel. The small town is known for having the tallest building east of the Cascades. It's the town you drive through through when you head for Idaho and the Hells Canyon, some sort of last major civilized spot before entering the unknown... For those who can afford, there's the Geiser Grand Hotel which has been recently renovated, and sleeping downtown is magic because there's a wonderful light and breeze in the evening, making you feel in an outpost. And if I chose to live in Baker city and had the means, I'd be tempted to live in this watch-tower like building, the Baker Tower. I'm not sure people in the area understand how magic their town is.
There's a couple of other towns I remember I loved when we drove through them and stopped for a while, it was Prineville and John Day, place that have a soul of their own in the air.

We set up our tents in the Oregon Trails West RV Park at the edge of Baker city, and because the night was coming soon we decided to have a glass in town and eat there. I had read abour Barley Brown's and its wonderful craft beers, so we looked for it and ordered two different beers. The place is new looking, too bad for a vintage feel, but the beers were so good.
__ I got a Coyote Peak Wheat, "a refreshing Northwest style wheat beer. Brewed with American White Wheat and 2-row barley. Has won 4 medals at the North American Beer Awards. 5,5 % ABV. Turbid gold color. So refreshing.
__ My travel buddy took a Shredders Wheat, "Gold Medal winner at the 2010 World Beer Cup ! Also won silver medals at the 09, 10, 11, and 12 Great American Beer Festival. American style wheat beer, amber in color and dang tasty. 5,6 % ABV. Very interesting beer, that's something I had not experienced during this trip, hard to describe, it's another mouthfeel, gentle and yet with a pronounced character. I'd say that these beers are found nowhere else, Baker City rocks... 4 $ each (pint).
Here is the beer list and website of this local brewery.
Eastern Oregon craft breweries are in the spotlight these days, the region takes part to the powerful craft-beer culture found elsewhere in the state, but they have worked more agressively here, maybe because the area is less populated and they have to be the best to sell and have a public. My regret was to have forgotten to visit Enterprise's Terminal Gravity, a pillar of Eastern Oregon craft beers. It was initially planned and somehow we were absorbed by something else.
read this article about Eastern Oregon craft breweries.

The Oregon Trails West RV Park where we drove back after then had an unexpected surprise for us, or at least for me as I had stayed outside on a bench filling things on my notebook in the dim light. There were only trailers and RVs there, and everybody was inside probably watching TV, it was maybe 10:30pm and the place was very quiet.
Then I heard a low noise, I didn't pay attention at the beginning, it was a vehicule driving very slowly at some distance along the lanes of the RV Park, and as it was coming near, I watched in its direction and saw something quite incredible : it was a small-size white pickup truck, not one of those big models, with an horizontal hose coming out from the bed of the truck, sprinkling a thick liquid/mist of insecticide. When I saw the thing, I immediately understood it was insecticide, I couldn't move, I was so surprised and in disbelief : I had heard a couple of mosquitoes but they weren't very agressive and everybody was indoors anyway, so I think this spraying was the most stupid thing I had seen in a campground. Still frozen by the surprise, the white pickup truck passed slowly along the alley near which I was sitting at a campground table, and I soon felt the tiny droplets of the mist all around... Crazy, and pointless endangering of all the people in this campground. I winessed the fall of several insects while I was sitting there holding my breath to minimize the intake, but with all the fields around this was like a drop in the ocean. This weird episode may be related to the threat of the West Nile virus, the vector of which is a mosquito, I really don't know and didn't consider it wise, as a foreigner, to go at the office complain about this spraying. I got to tell it on Yelp or Trip Advisor. Log House Rv Park, Enterprise OR Loghouse RV Park, Enterprise, Oregon
Eastern Oregon is indeed very different compared from the rest of the state, especially the western strip : high mountains, canyons, forests alternating with deserts. It has also been a beer producing area for a few years, and a very promising one.
We stopped at the Loghouse RV Park on the outskirts of Enterprise, a small town which was more authentic than Joseph a few miles further west, now growingly a tourist magnet. Google Maps should have a routing option like Avoid Tourist Traps, it would have spared us Joseph and also Carmel, CA (although the latter was almost fun from a second-degree perspective). We, not surprisingly, bought the beers and food at Safeway in Enterprise.

The privately owned Loghouse RV Park was by far not the best campground we had, noisy (cars & pickup trucks coming and going in the campground, noisy people speaking loudly late at night or early in the morning and lots of dust each time a car would drive there. A place to avoid. The price was god though, 15 $ per tent but as we had 2 tents this made for us the normal price of 30 $.

__ Zigzag River Lager by Portland Brewing.
A smooth lager with savoury feel in the back of the mouth. 2,99 $ only, no tax but 0,005 $ bottle deposit. Good value.

__ Hoppy Bock Lager by New Belgium. "Meet the first of our new Hop Kitchen series : a german-style springtime lager brewed with Rye then loaded withh Hallertauer, Perle and Fuggle hops for a spicy, earthy aroma. This hoppy Bock Lager offers a medium body and slightly sweet malt character perfect for young spring hop-fling." 1,49 $. Made in Fort Collins, Co. I was pretty sure that we had chosen two local beers, sorry for that misstep. the beer fulls the mouth and the palate, a bit too much, I would say. strong in alcohol too, but that's my taste. Overall, I'll have had a good feel with New Belgium beers, and during this (I must say) superficial review of the beer landscape in the U.S. this comes out as one of my favorite brands.

The meat was again terrific, grilled like usual on the campsite bbq, tender and tasty. I've been thinking and wondering why the meat is so tasty in the U.S., but when I think to those seemingly-rustic black cows in America which we saw so many times along the road in the wilderness, standing under hot temperatures without shade around and with almost no grass to eat, I understand why the meat can be this good, these cows don't have it easy, and the meat is thus better. This is something which is true with vines too, the best wines come from struggling vines, we now know that. Technical info for this meat that we had : the 1,03 lp piece cost 4,11 $ with my Safeway card (6,17$ without).
There's another good place for your breakfast nearby, the Red Rooster Cafe, a family restaurant with the good simple vibes.

A few campgrounds are missing on this page, one of the best value being the Giles French Park, operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers along the Columbia river in Rufus, North-Central Oregon. Good value, certainly it is : it's free and you can stay 14 consecutive days ! There's only toilets, you have to bring your water for the cooking and wash yourself in the Columbia river, but the view on the Columbia river is great and there are a few shops and services in Rufus a few hundreds yards away. It's very windy too, the region is known for kiting and windsurfing. There were almost nobody there when we spent a night, only two RVs. We almost passed the place without noticing, there was no sign and as I was asking a local guy in his pickup truck at a stop sign about any possible campground in the area, he said there was a campground right there along the river... I love Oregon...
Next time I'll look into camping on the BLM land, BLM going for Bureau of Land Management, it's the federal administration overlooking State-owned land, and they have lots of free (or almost free) campgrounds, although little publicized.

During this trip, I will have been impressed by the diversity of artisan beers available on the market here on the West Coast, and I noticed that even major supermarkets like Walmart and Safeway distribute local craft beers, this phenomenon will certainely have an impact on the way major beers brands make their products. But the market and outreach of craft beer extends to the whole country, not just the West Coast, just read this randomly picked story abour a retailer in Colorado.

Free beer ! After a free beer of course... I should have begun with this one

Comments

[Laclarinefarm]

By far, Bert, my favorite post of your whole trip!

[Andrew Adams]

Great post, really insightful to hear about the Westside from a Frenchman. I love that you tried beers like Torpedo as well as a Bud and kept an open mind. I would suggest though that he American style of loads of fresh hops is not something to be dismissed.

[robert ames]

please come to walla walla!

[Bert]

Thanks, Hank ! I see you like beer too !

Andrew : I'll try again, I'm new to these types of beers. I saw yesterday in Montmarte that there's a beer shop with little-known (here) imported U.S. beers, among them Rogue ! But a bottle costs 9 Euros... (Peoples Drugstore - 78 rue des Martyrs 75018 Paris)

Robert : We actually drove through Walla Walla but had too little time before going back to Portland. we strolled a bit downtown, and walked randomly into a winery tasting room, Charles Smith Wines, it was a nice loft-like space and the wines had fancy labels, I asked about tasting but they charged 5 $ minimum. Instead, I happened to spend exactly the same 5 $ oaround the block in a Goodwill thrift shop on a pair of Timberland street-shoes which looked like almost new...
I'll spend more time in Walla Walla next time...

[Mark Thomasseau]

Camping and beer! What could be better? Maybe Paris and a picnic along a canal!
Great post, great pictures! I live on the West Coast and have enjoyed many of the great beers you sampled.
Thank you for your blog site, it is great!

[Aaron]

I am an American wine lover who started out as (and still am) a beer lover, so I really enjoyed this post. I am not at all a fan of most American IPAs. It seems like you are not, either, so I wonder why you continued to drink so many of them on your journeys. Oh, well. It seems like you drank across the entire spectrum of quality of American beer. You even had a Busch and some Budweisers. I'm glad to see you enjoyed the Fat Tire. I think New Belgium is the best brewer in America, although I've never tasted anything by that off-the-grid Jonathan you wrote about. :)

[Billy Bob Joe Blow]

Bert,

There's no need to post this...

Why is the meat (beef) so tasty in the U.S.? It's all finished in Confined Animal Feedlot Operations (CAFOs). Beeves are forced to eat grain (corn) in a feedlot which will kill them if they do it long enough (acidosis), and are given tons of antibiotics to keep them alive (acidosis creates conditions ideal for E. coli 0157) until they are actually slaughtered. It's really fucked up. Think of it as a goose and its eventual donation of foie gras.

They put a lot of fat into the meat. Fat is tasty. Americans love to eat and cheap meat makes us Ugly Americans. This grain-finished beef is unhealthy and so are we Americans.

Grass-fed, grass-finished, local beef is the future (and past).

[Bert]

Well, you may be right, but in this case our industrial meat (beef especially) in France (the one bought in similar supermarkets) is certainly also awfully-produced but it is frankly inedible, that makes a difference