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32 | LIFE IN SOLERA | DECEMBER 2024 | Greetings from the coolest club on wheels. We started our fall/ winter camping schedule with a five-day camping trip to nearby Lake Skinner in November, with rain clouds and the Eagles playing Take it Easy on our CD players. Nestled in the rolling hills of Winchester, Calif is Lake Skinner, 36 miles south of Beaumont. Lake Skinner is the perfect place for campers and day-users alike. Temecula and its wineries are nearby. For adult fun, Pechanga Casino offers casino action, concerts, and a very highly-rated campground. The attraction at Lake Skinner is the fishing as it's regularly stocked with catfish. Bird watching is another favorite activity of many visitors. We came for the camping and an opportunity to relax and enjoy all that Lake Skinner offers. For the RVer, Lake Skinner offers 199 full hook-up sites (water, sewer and electricity). This makes life a little simpler by not having to lug around extra generators and water. 18 camping sites have water and electricity only, while 40 camping sites only offer water at those camping spaces. There's a camp store for those items we sometimes forget to pack. For history buffs, there is the Alamos Schoolhouse within the park. Besides camping, boating is available at Lake Skinner. You can bring your own boat or rent a boat at the marina. Lake Skinner offers plenty of hiking and biking trails. We camped in the 300 area of Campground C. While Campground C is the furthest from the lake, it's still a nice walk to the lake and is near the Alamos Historic School House and nature center. As a group, a little bit more planning went into this trip, food-preparation wise. Sunday night was the Carlson's homemade chili with all the fixings. Tuesday was a taco and enchilada buffet with everyone bringing their favorite side dish to share. Thursday was leftover day. The days in between we were on our own but we ate dinner together. Every night we sat by a campfire and retold our lies and stories. It's what we do as a group and we do it with smiles on our faces. Camping fees at Lake Skinner are very reasonable at $50 a night for a full hook-up campsite. There is no park sponsored WiFi. Enter our friends the Carlsons with a solution. They have Travel FI combined with Roku. Why is this important? Even while camping, one has to be able to communicate and receive vital information. Santa Ana winds were expected in the area and situational awareness is a must when camping in rural areas with a high fire possibility. RV GROUP