Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum - View Single Post

tweir · 06-23-2004, 10:17 AM

In the original posting I provided the URL for Lake Morena. This gives you a pretty good oversight of the park and the number of spaces. What it does not tell you is the dynamic layout of the sites. It looked like to us, the sites were/are laid out in "pod" form---that is, three or four sites laid out adjoining a central common area with dimensions about 80' x 80'----full of California Oaks. The peripheral sites all had "common areas" behind them. There are only three pull-thru's in the park. However, the width of the roadways and radius of turns really makes them easy to back into. The sites as compared to many other parks we've visited, are about 1 1/2 times as wide---very, very wide. The area is very shady as in lots of trees. Although the lake is low because of no rain in the past several years, its still "boatable"---lots of folks out bass fishing. The only drawback is no sewer---water & electricity only. The've just finished two new restroom/shower facilities---really nice and clean. Dumpsters are well placed across the internal roadways from the campsites and in enclosures. Well thought out planning here...! Very quiet although the park was well over 80% full. "Town" is about 1/4 of a mile from the entrance---everything from fuel to foodstuffs are avaiable. I think they roll up the sidewalks about sunset, because we did not hear a single vehicle at night.

The side trip to Campo was great...about 7 miles from the park! The railroad museum is well worth the visit. Docents lead tours of the workshops and rolling stock dispalys. They were in the process of refurbishing several cars in the shops while we were there. The restored units are quite amazing: a completly restored US Mail Car complete with letters in the cubby-holes and sorting sacks hanging on the pegs---you would think at any moment, the train would leave---it was so "real". The other amazing car was the old Army Transportation Hospital Cook Car----I'm sure the Army had another acronym for it, but I think you get the idea. You could almost smell the Ham & Lima beans cooking----everything was restored: pot, pans, a real ICE box and empty cans in the pantry with the labels still on them. Simply amazing...! The last unit that caught my eye was the 1930-era "short-line" car that ran in Santa Monica I think. This thing looked like a Model A "station wagon" on train wheels----a place for the engineer and two rows of bench seats facing each other in the rear. And yes, it was powered by a Model A motor and the docent said they still run it on the "line" every once in a while---looked like it had an old UUUGAA horn on it; not a whistle---I know, because I restored a '29 Model A Tudor Sedan and drove it to work for a couple of years---yup, its an UUGAA horn...!

The ride to Tecate was not available last weekend. They were in the process of "spiffing up" the cars and locomotives for a big fundraiser event this weekend. They did run a short train from Campo to Division---the tunnel between the USA & Mexico----actually one end of the tunnel is in the USA and the other end is in Mexico. The Conductor said they had to radio the Border Patrol when they were a 1/2 mile away as the tunnel and surrounding area is loaded with sensors that detect---well, you know what I mean. So yes, we did get a train ride and it was well worth the time---so very interesting. Almost forgot to note: seeing how it was Father's Day weekend, each Father or Father-looking type person received a commemorative (I think I misspelled that word) coffee mug. When we got back to Lake Morena, the mug was immediately put in the "collection". If you folks get a chance, visit lake Morena. I give the park 4 stars---would get 5 except for the sewer thing. Now this reminds me, I have a very good friend with whom I worked with who is now a "big-wig" in the County offices---maybe I'll call him and "suggest" as a taxpayer who contributes to his paycheck, to put sewers at the sites....!

06-23-2004, 10:17 AM	#5
tweir Montana Fan Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: San Marcos Posts: 327 M.O.C. #572	In the original posting I provided the URL for Lake Morena. This gives you a pretty good oversight of the park and the number of spaces. What it does not tell you is the dynamic layout of the sites. It looked like to us, the sites were/are laid out in "pod" form---that is, three or four sites laid out adjoining a central common area with dimensions about 80' x 80'----full of California Oaks. The peripheral sites all had "common areas" behind them. There are only three pull-thru's in the park. However, the width of the roadways and radius of turns really makes them easy to back into. The sites as compared to many other parks we've visited, are about 1 1/2 times as wide---very, very wide. The area is very shady as in lots of trees. Although the lake is low because of no rain in the past several years, its still "boatable"---lots of folks out bass fishing. The only drawback is no sewer---water & electricity only. The've just finished two new restroom/shower facilities---really nice and clean. Dumpsters are well placed across the internal roadways from the campsites and in enclosures. Well thought out planning here...! Very quiet although the park was well over 80% full. "Town" is about 1/4 of a mile from the entrance---everything from fuel to foodstuffs are avaiable. I think they roll up the sidewalks about sunset, because we did not hear a single vehicle at night. The side trip to Campo was great...about 7 miles from the park! The railroad museum is well worth the visit. Docents lead tours of the workshops and rolling stock dispalys. They were in the process of refurbishing several cars in the shops while we were there. The restored units are quite amazing: a completly restored US Mail Car complete with letters in the cubby-holes and sorting sacks hanging on the pegs---you would think at any moment, the train would leave---it was so "real". The other amazing car was the old Army Transportation Hospital Cook Car----I'm sure the Army had another acronym for it, but I think you get the idea. You could almost smell the Ham & Lima beans cooking----everything was restored: pot, pans, a real ICE box and empty cans in the pantry with the labels still on them. Simply amazing...! The last unit that caught my eye was the 1930-era "short-line" car that ran in Santa Monica I think. This thing looked like a Model A "station wagon" on train wheels----a place for the engineer and two rows of bench seats facing each other in the rear. And yes, it was powered by a Model A motor and the docent said they still run it on the "line" every once in a while---looked like it had an old UUUGAA horn on it; not a whistle---I know, because I restored a '29 Model A Tudor Sedan and drove it to work for a couple of years---yup, its an UUGAA horn...! The ride to Tecate was not available last weekend. They were in the process of "spiffing up" the cars and locomotives for a big fundraiser event this weekend. They did run a short train from Campo to Division---the tunnel between the USA & Mexico----actually one end of the tunnel is in the USA and the other end is in Mexico. The Conductor said they had to radio the Border Patrol when they were a 1/2 mile away as the tunnel and surrounding area is loaded with sensors that detect---well, you know what I mean. So yes, we did get a train ride and it was well worth the time---so very interesting. Almost forgot to note: seeing how it was Father's Day weekend, each Father or Father-looking type person received a commemorative (I think I misspelled that word) coffee mug. When we got back to Lake Morena, the mug was immediately put in the "collection". If you folks get a chance, visit lake Morena. I give the park 4 stars---would get 5 except for the sewer thing. Now this reminds me, I have a very good friend with whom I worked with who is now a "big-wig" in the County offices---maybe I'll call him and "suggest" as a taxpayer who contributes to his paycheck, to put sewers at the sites....!