At Lopez Lake, every camping space is booked for Memorial Day weekend.
A gloomy Sunday morning at Lopez Lake didn’t stop families from enjoying their Memorial Day weekend.
Rachel Solano and her family are staying at the lake from Thursday to Monday.
“It's a yearly thing that we do," Solano said. "Every year that we come out here, it's all family. Everybody gets together, we have games, and just spending time with each other. It’s beautiful.”
Solano said her family had to book six months in advance to get the number of spaces they needed for their family.
Leslie Reyes is part of Solano's family.
“When we usually rent them, it’s more than one spot, so we have like 3 or 4 spots, and then just all the family comes together to have a good time," Reyes said.
Memorial Day weekend kicks off the summertime changes for the lake. Instead of the 3 or 4 onsite staff in the winter, 14 workers and volunteers are working at the lake to match the demand from the guests.
The adventure park and water park are back open after their seasonal closure, and a seasonal fire ban is back in place. Jorge Chacon has been coming to Lopez Lake around Memorial Day for over a decade. He said he’s learned to adapt to the fire ban.
“This is about the change in the season where things start getting dry, and obviously, we want to conserve this," Chacon said. "It is normal, but you can still have a bonfire with gas, propane fire pits.”
Chacon is spending the weekend with his extended family camping together. His uncle, Francisco Chavez, said camping as a family is a unique bonding experience.
“We don't see each other as much," Chavez said. "We just talk on the phone and stuff, and when we get together, it's thanks to Memorial Weekend. All the people that are fighting wars and stuff like that. We still honor them by getting together, it's great.”
