We drove 40 miles east of Bakersfield to Lake Isabelle to check out this popular tourist spot a few weekends ago when nothing much else was going on. The 9 mile lake, once a small lake that was flooded to create a large reservoir and earthen dam is a hotspot (in more ways than one, it can get incredibly hot summer days here) for campers and water enthusiasts. This time of year its so quiet as to be almost mystical. I've never seen so many State campgrounds around one lake! Theres Boulder Gulch, Hungry Gulch, French Gulch, Pioneer Point, Main Dam Campground, Auxillary Dam Rec area, Camp 9 and so forth. And I bet its still hard to find a spot over the summer months!