Farewell Goose Lake

Small towns. You know, those ideal communities you've seen on television where everything seems way too good to be true. My first recollection of such small towns were Mayberry from the Andy Griffith show and of course Hooterville from Petticoat Junction and Green Acres. Regardless of the story plots one thing rang true for all of the shows, people in the town cared and watched out for people in the town.

A few weeks ago my wife and I were involved in a nasty car accident that left us with no transportation and doctor appointments some distance away – the closest being 14 miles one way and the other just over one hundred. Enter two small towns: New Pine Creek (population 120) and Lakeview Oregon (2300 people). New Pine Creek, when all is said and done consists of the post office and an antique store across the street. The post master allowed us to use the general delivery address and she kept an eye out for our prescriptions and other incoming mail and we got the word we had mail. Sort of critical when we had to chase down transportation to get there (about 2 miles from the park).

Lakeview has a Safeway grocery store and we had been going there about once a week during the month of June so I guess we were “regulars” - at least the cashiers made us feel that way by always greeting us with a hello and a smile. A few days after the accident we were shopping and I can't count the number of people who asked after us and offered help in one form or another; not just store folks but fellow shoppers as well. Made us feel like we were back in the small town of Ucon Idaho (pop: 640) where we grew up and everyone knew everyone else.

Now here we are the end of July and our time at Goose Lake is coming to a close. Tomorrow morning we'll be heading to Klamath Falls for a post surgical evaluation on Chris' wrist and since we'll be in the “big” city, we'll of course pay the obligatory visit to Wally World to stock for our next journey – Hyrum Reservoir in Utah.

It has been a little hectic what with doctor appointments and a little painful discovering new bruises on an almost daily basis but despite the adversity a couple of facts remain. Our stay here was very rewarding, leaving us with a feeling of accomplishment and sure in the knowledge we have indeed made a difference. Further, we  have thoroughly enjoyed our stay here. Our permanent ranger Rick and the seasonal ranger Lee and of course, our guardian angel and park aid Tina have made us feel right at home. Without their guidance, input, and support our time here could have been quite the opposite. Couple the environment these three fostered with our co-hosts Charlie and Becky and you know what? We were our own very small town.

Shoot, it certainly is not too much of a stretch to say... We're home.

Perhaps we’ll return next year.

Pizza Run!–NOT

I'll tell the tale about this a bit later in the blog but...

“Sun's up in ...”

So begins the early morning message from fellow RV'er Millie Duffin. She and her husband Dick have traveled around the country for years and each morning Millie will get up with the sunrise and post her news of the day, plans for the future, and sometimes, as she put it, “just ramblings of an old lady.” What I've found in the years I've been following her is these “ramblings” as she put it, are actually short, simple messages very much like the song birds she observes each day; pronouncements of simply the joy of life.

We met the Duffins very briefly on a hot, black parking lot just off the I-5 freeway in what used to be the Monaco motorhome factory in Coburg Oregon. This was the year after we had purchased our first class A diesel pusher and the parking lot which used to be known fondly as “Camp Monaco” had become the service center for a consortium of active and defunct motorhome brands called the Allied Recreation Group. I have always thought of it as the “ARG” (said in my most piratey pirate voice) – usually after seeing the invoice for the repairs.

There we were, a group of people as widely diverse as the our rigs, held hostage by the whims of the service managers. With only a truck stop and McDonalds within easy walking distance and not a heck of a lot to do except hang out in the customer lounge, I'm sure you can understand just how welcome any diversion can be.

Enter the Dillie Muffin party. As rookies Chris and I had yet to experience an RV'er potluck and being the kids of the group, honestly thought this would simply be a group of really old people sitting around eating soft food. Not so for we had not calculated on the tornado of energy, the monsoon of ideas, or the sheer force of will that is Millie. While folks will toot their horns under the direction of a band leader and fancy people will play in the orchestra following a conductor, true brilliance and awe inspiring audacity can only come from that rare individual bestowed with the title – maestro. In our little corner of the universe we have something better, we have Millie. Nuff said.

Years have passed since that one time parking lot gathering and the only contact has been via the almost daily “Sun's up” posting. That is, until this past week when Chris and I were privileged to host Dick and Millie at Goose Lake. I've said it before and I'm sure I'll be saying it again, one unique aspect of the RV lifestyle is though often separated by miles and years, friendships, even if those formed in a matter of minutes, can be picked up and continued as it was only a day.

Sure did miss them when they pulled out. Of course chances are always pretty good we'll run into each other (in a good way!) in the future.

Now, about that picture. Yes, that is our toad. Yes we were in an accident and yes we were injured. Chris got the worst of all yet truthfully it could have been much worse than her broken wrist. For those who follow some of our Facebook posts; no we did not get our pizza which was the reason we were traveling in the first place.

To make a short story even shorter, neither of us has recollection of what exactly happened other than the sudden appearance of another car as it smacked us or we smacked them. No matter; the end of the story is our car is totaled and Chris will be having some surgery to correct the break which was probably caused by the airbag going off. She has also been blessed with some really awesome purple bruises from the seat belt. I have been calling her stripes. She says I will pay for it.

Folks that saw the accident say we must have had angels watching over us. If they were, they have since handed the job off to the park aid here who stayed with us in the emergency room for the five hours while we were evaluated, drove us back to the park and then loaned us her vehicle to use. Tina, if you are reading this, words cannot express our gratitude.

So, we'll be staying at Goose Lake for a while longer to get some doctor appointments out of the way and the obligatory post surgery followups. I've already got a lead on a replacement toad so we can get around and as I write this, the soreness has lessened enough so we don't need help getting dressed.

What's the phrase? “It's nothing but a thang.” When all is said and done things can be replaced or fixed. And us? We survived.

Goose Lake–Avoiding the Crazy

RV'ers are crazy. I know this is fact based on my observations in the campground (and I read it on the internet so it has to be true). Einstein perhaps said it best with “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”

This week has been a case where the theory is proven. The evidence involves several short stories so please, indulge me.

Camper #1 Actually not a camper, just a visitor to the dump station. Yes, I do hang out there on occasion solely for the entertainment um, er, to assist campers; yea that's it, assist campers. I digress.

The subject of our study enters the park missing the actual turn into the dump station area and so ends up going into the exit instead. Not a major problem as the whole thing is a looping affair which in his case, takes him right back to the entrance. Of course, since he went the wrong way on the loop, his dump side was on the opposite side from the actual dump station. He stops and you could almost hear the gears going round as he thought of his predicament. No worries, he'll simply go around once again and that should fix the problem. As he approaches the station this second time round he's already realizing it just isn't going to happen – again. Without stopping he speeds up ever so slightly and; want to take a guess?; yep, goes around for the third time. I figure he sped up thinking a faster pace will make it all work better. Upon arrival at the dump station for this, the THIRD time, our visitor finally realizes something is just not working. He's not sure what but there must definitely be a trick to lining up on that silly dump station.

Cue the park host, aka, me.

I calmly arrive in our little host gator (going the correct way) and inquire if there is a problem. The visitor, who obviously saw me approaching across the VERY LARGE turn-around area, sheepishly admits he was just a bit disoriented. You see, this was his first time at this campground and was unfamiliar with the layout. I nodded understandingly and wisely did not mention the three foot long reflective white arrows painted on the pavement nor did I point out the large square sign marked “Wrong Way, Use Turn-Around”. I did give them a long hard stare and wished him good luck as I mounted back up and went off to patrol the park.

Campers #2 and #3. Yes, a group of campers occupying two sites and perhaps partying just a bit past their limits. This group decided to pool their resources and have a communal campfire at one site.

I have to break away for just a moment. Our motorhome is a 2015 Berkshire which features a full frontal, one piece windshield. The anti-glare treatment and the lighting differences makes it very difficult for outside people to see inside though I can assure you looking outside is completely unrestricted. For the purposes of this missive, simply think of our windshield as our own one-way glass bubble looking out into the wonderful world of crazy campers. An added bonus is the thickness which renders it a very effective noise blanket.

Returning to the partying campers. I happened to be sitting in the passenger's seat (it has an electric foot rest and really reclines nicely – cozy), and was looking out over the campground. I could clearly see them gathered around the fire ring attempting to light their fire with wooden matches. Match after match was struck, lowered into the ring, and promptly snuffed out by the very light breeze. About every third match or so, the person lighting them would become mesmerized by the flame and forget the objective was to actually light a larger fire. I'm pretty sure they went through about half of the box before someone in their group decided it was the location causing the problem. In just a matter of minutes the fire makings had been stripped from the one ring and moved to the other and our expert match lighter once again began striking matches.

Perhaps it was the mesmerizing flames holding the match too long or maybe a match held incorrectly when transferring to the ring, but at one point our fearless not-maker of fire burnt his fingers. I am now very familiar with the allure of the silent movie. I had a front row seat watching the victim mouth words and swing his arms about trying to cool off his burnt hands. I'm sure my rather crusty, retired sailor vocabulary did not diminish the impact of what words were probably actually spoken.

I'm also assuming it was the guy's wife who gathered up the spilled matches, (there were really not that many left), gave the patient a cold beer and proceeded to crumple up some paper, add it to the wood, and light the fire. All with just one match.

The last camper, #4, demonstrated either an immeasurable amount of perseverance or, more likely, a truly serious case of crazy. Standing about 10 feet from a gopher hole, camera at the ready, our camper was bound and determined to snap a closeup of one of our park residents. Every time he moved back a few paces the gopher would rise up out of the hole only to drop back down as the camper/photographer stepped close to take the shot. I watched this activity for quite some time and finally saw what was happening. The gopher, after dropping down one hole, would peek out a nearby one to see if the coast was clear. I believe it was a toss up between the gopher and myself on who was having the most fun.

I can't say it enough. Goose Lake State Park is one of the most peaceful, laid back, and relaxing stays we have experienced. Cell service is sketchy, TV non existent for non satellite users, there is no internet to tempt, and the nearest town is far enough away to discourage running in on a lark. No matter though. If you hang around the dump station or simply observe your fellow campers, there is some really good entertainment to be had.

Until next time, safe travels and please, avoid the crazy.

Goose Lake State Recreation Area

The first of June has arrived and so have we – to a new campground that is. Welcome to Goose Lake State Park located just off highway 395 on the Oregon California border. This non-descript park consists of nearly 72 acres with 49 partial hookup sites (water and 20amp service) sitting on the banks of a very large but extremely shallow Goose lake. You could almost call it a wading pool if you disregarded the miles and miles of “pool”. Remember those old western movies where they show a flat desert and the heat shimmering like water as far as the eye can see? Like that. But with water. And no desert. At 4500ft. With trees.

What struck us on arrival was there was no one here. The park did have at least one guest since there was a travel trailer parked but the occupant had already left for the area's primary past time of hunting rocks. The quarter mile single loop has, as I mentioned, 49 well spaced out sites on both sides of a paved albeit gravelly road with a large communal space in the center holding picnic tables and fire ring. There is about a mile long trail that runs along the perimeter of the campground as well. I call it a trail but it really is just a 6ft mowed swath through the grass. Very nice for an evening stroll bird watching.

Twice the size of the campground, the day use area is split by a huge paved parking lot bracketed on one side by an open grass area about the size of a soccer field (it really could be a soccer field if it wasn't for all of the ankle twisting, leg breaking gopher holes) and another large area holding horseshoe courts. Tucked away may be the wrong phrase to describe the remaining area since it is comprised of a full baseball field sized, shaded picnic area scattered about with tables.

Combine the two areas and you have what could be a little bit of heaven for a myriad of people. For the artists there are the numerous lilacs, trees, flowers, and critters in settings made for the canvas or paper. For birders, sit back and simply listen the the cacophony from the song birds or the screech of the eagles and hawks or look out on the majestic pelicans in the lake. For the botanist the area also offers an excellent example of where high desert meets wetlands with its vast diversity.

Okay, enough of that, I'm starting to sound like some sort of chamber of commerce travelogue!

Our camp hosting duties are very much similar to the other camps we've been at with one major exception - I get to run a John Deere diesel lawnmower. Just think of the ape sounds Tim Allen made in his show “Tool Time” and you'll get an idea.

That's all for this week, I'm off to cut some more grass (yea, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!) Chris is cleaning the two fire rings left from departing campers.

I’ve Sprung My Spring!

Ah spring. Birds calling, flowers beginning to bloom and the cherry trees blossoming with color. Marmots coming out to fatten up on new growth grass and other greens. Kids chasing after each other, dogs chasing after kids, squirrels, and marmots. And amongst it all? Well for the experienced camp hosts, the unmistakable occasional and somewhat muted exclamations of campers working out the bugs.

 

In the words of the famous Willie Wonka “So much time and so little to do.”
“Wait.”
“Stop”.
“Reverse that.”

Probably the most contradictory thing about full-time RV'ing and in our case, camphosting, is just how much there is to do and just how little time there seems to be in each day. I'm pretty sure it is all some sort of quantum physics thing and I have proven it countless times just this year alone. You see, when you take a seat on a warm spring day time slows to a crawl and everything takes on a wonderfully leisurely pace. It is times like these where you can organize and prioritize the your tasks for the day, plan future projects, and basically get your life in order.

Yea, right.

The very moment you accidently close your eyes for anything longer than a blink it all comes crashing home; time is relative. Upon reopening your eyes you discover hours have gone by and you are suddenly pressed just to get up in time to get dinner. Any thoughts of tackling a to do list or making plans will all have to wait for another day. Curse you Einstein!

Despite this hazardous condition, we have remained at Lincoln Rock State Park and I really have managed to work around the naps to replace a bathroom vanity and sink. Frankly, when you look at that project and recall just how absolutely hopeless I am mechanically, it remains something to brag about even if I say so myself.

Last year, shortly after our departure from Sunset Bay while we were heading south, we noticed the plastic laminate around our sink was beginning to wrinkle and come away from the particle board comprising the vanity top. Unfortunately, where the separation was occurring was not the only place some water was getting under the plastic and it wasn't until our first extended stop in Pahrump that we discovered the faucet had not been sealed either and had allowed water to seep under the mounting.

Enter Mr. Murphy. Just as I was able to take a solid look at the sink and formulate a plan for fixing it, both Chris and I came down with the flu. Our entire stay in Pahrump with the exception of just one day was spent sequestered from everyone and everything. That one day? Restocking groceries and probably the most serendipitous visit to Home Depot. You see, Home Depot does custom sized vanities and sinks in solid surface – something we had promised ourselves after seeing the utter disaster of the laminate topped stuff. The salesperson was a godsend! She knew the subject matter, had some experience with the order process and was very understanding of my complete lack of knowledge. Even though she knew we would be unable to purchase from her store because of our impending departure, she still took the time to answer all of our questions – even my dumb ones!

It was another three months before we returned to the Wenatchee area and had reliable access to a Home Depot for our order, then another month to receive our new vanity top and sink. With that sort of extra time, even a klutz such as myself can actually plan and execute a successful installation as the photo shows.

I wish I could relate that our experience ordering the custom sink from Home Depot in Wenatchee was as pleasurable as our shopping experience in Pahrump but it wasn't. Plain and simple. Somehow, perhaps because of the salesperson in Wenatchee was not familiar with the order process, our order wasn't filled for two weeks. Then, due to a recent delivery contract change, it took an additional two weeks to arrive. Kudos to Home Deport though for recognizing and acknowledging the problems on the order and giving us a $50 discount for inconvenience. Yep, will be shopping there again but probably not in the Wenatchee store.

In three short weeks we'll be pakcing up and heading off to Goose Lake State Park near New Pine Creek, Oregon. Until then, I'll leave you with the camper funny of the month.

It begins with our normal rounds through the park when, in passing one of the pull thru sites something caught my eye just every so slightly out of place. A 5^th wheel toy hauler trailer – the kind with a master bedroom up front and probably bunk rooms in the rear. What was interesting was the sewer hose running neatly between the two gray tank dumps. Thats all, just the hose connected to the front pipe, running along the ground to the back pipe. Note, no Y-gate valve and no connection to the dump. Yep, both dump valves were sticking out, indicating they were pulled open. Wish I had taken a picture. Wonder with the difference in heights, will the rear tank overflow from the added fluid from the front tank?

I missed the final outcome. They were already gone before our rounds leaving only a wet spot on the pavement. Granted, it was a HUGE wet spot.

Take care and safe travels. Type at you soon.

Chasing the 70’s

We last left you in Yuma nearly three months ago! Here we are, winter over and we're on our way back north. That isn't to say we didn't run into some winter though!

One of our goals this season was to check out a park we have never been to yet have signed up for hosting. Goose Lake state park is located in the south east of Oregon along the border with California (the road into the park from the highway is the borderline). I mention this because in order to pay a visit to the park we needed to divert from our normal northbound route a bit which in turn, took us right into the teeth of a winter storm. Taking 395 out of Fernley Nevada we made the run into the leading edges of the forecasted cold front towards the small town of Alturas, California. Rain, slush and some not so friendly side winds beat us up pretty bad so instead of going to Goose Lake and then onward to Klamath Falls Oregon, we stopped at Sully's RV Park in Alturas for a much needed break. I'm really glad we did as that night the front went through with a vengeance – more rain, sleet, and wind gusts over 45mph slammed into our rig causing a sleepless catnap sort of rest that really isn't a rest.

Come morning we had, according to the map, an easy 4 hour drive up to our destination, Sutherlin Oregon and the Escapee park for a weekend of downtime with visits to our favorite local restaurant, Fusion. Blatant plug: if you are EVER within even 25 miles of this place you simply have to check them out. This very small cafe located on the main street of Sutherlin is a definite keeper. What's the phrase? Oh yes, nirvana!

Okay, back to the trip. Uneventful all the way to Klamath Falls. Changing over to highway 140 we had bare and wet roads and to my shame, I grew complacent and mentioned how nice the roads were. Oops. Within a span of just 5 miles we went from high overcast skies, and as I mentioned a really nice road to a snow covered mess, lowering clouds, and the promise of a lot more snow to come. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, no place to safely pull over. Wouldn't have mattered anyway, we weren't carrying chains.

We learned a few things on this trip. Number 1: NEVER, nope, not EVER travel into a snow storm again. Not even if we have chains (we won't, too much temptation to use them). There is always plenty of time to take our time. Number 2: There is really no good reason to press on in high side winds – period. Why take a beating if you don't have to. Lastly: we have a motorhome. That means we can pull over, heat up some water, make lunch, watch a movie, take a shower, do laundry – virtually ANYTHING other than risk our safety or make a trip less enjoyable. (This last one will require numerous applications of a 2X4 to the side of my head to ensure I learn it.)

Our nearly four months this winter season consisted of visiting museums, arts and crafts shows, small quirky towns, and trying to enjoy what was a cooler than previous winter's weather. I believe, unlike last year, we experienced at least 4 nights where it froze or frosted up pretty good. Didn't matter too much as each day was topping out at 70 degrees or more with tons of sunshine to sit and enjoy.

The title of this blog is chasing the 70's. We really didn't have to do much chasing, just kicked back testing lawn chairs and let the 70's catch up to us.

We're currently two days out from our first hosting gig of 2018 – Lincoln Rock State Park. The rest of 2018 has also firmed up so here's the CnD Travels hosting schedule for the summer season:

April/May: Lincoln Rock State Park, East Wenatchee, WA
June: Goose Lake State Park, New Pine Creek, OR
July: Collier Memorial State Park, Chiloquin, OR
August: travel and goof off month. You could run into us in UT, SD, MT, ID, WA, and OR. Perhaps even CO.
September: Wallowa Lake State Park, Joseph, OR
Oct/Nov: Sunset Bay State Park, Coos Bay, OR

Until next time – and I can assure you the time gap between blogs will be MUCH shorter. Shoot, new campers seem to guarantee it.