I was headed to Field Van in Fresno without campground reservations and soon to discover that there wasn’t a camping site within 100 miles to be had.  No problem, I checked my resources and found Tumey Hills, a BLM site that allowed disperse camping.  Great.  I was getting tired of campgrounds.

As I drove in, a number of vehicles were driving out.  I remembered that I had read that the area was used for target practice.  Good thing they were leaving, my dog is scared of the sound of gun shots.  I found a nice place to park for the night.  Walking around I found the place littered with thousands of shell casings.  But ignoring all the evidence that the area was heavily used for target practice I was sure my dog and I would have a good night rest.  Wrong.  People came after dark and started shooting their guns.  It continued on and off during the night which included a 45-minute spell starting at 1:30 am.  My dog was laying on top of me trying to get as close as she could for safety. I kept thinking about leaving, but it had to quit soon I kept thinking.  After the 1:30 am shooting stopped we slept until 6:30 and then the shooting started again.  This time I drove out of area immediately.  No coffee before I left. I had everything in drive mode in record time.  About five miles away, I stopped for quiet morning coffee and breakfast.

Next time when I read that an area is used for target practice I will keep driving and look for another location to spend the night.  Note to self:  Think.  Don’t ignore the obvious. 

The next night I stayed at Panoche Hills BLM parking lot and although the site wasn’t as scenic, it was quiet.