Bull Prairie

What a beautiful place Bull Prairie is this time of year!

The Lake

On the way to the Lake

 I met up with long time friends for our annual camp trip.    I chose to take the scenic route because:
1- I don't like driving on freeways, whether I'm pulling Waddles or not
2 - I get much better gas mileage when I drive slower
3- I love taking the scenic route, always

My Route

So here is the route I took, out and back.    I drove through the towns of Wasco, Condon, Hardman, Spray, Fossil, Antelope and Shaniko.    The scenery was wonderful.

Along the way

Once at Bull Prairie Campground we got settled in to two sites, one double and one single.   I was the only one not sleeping in a tent, and the lone male in the group is the gourmet camp chef, with a kitchen set up to make any chef jealous.   We always eat well!

Waddles settled in

The rest of the camp

The campground is not tiny, and not huge, but just right.   There is a lake and campground here, on the Umatilla National Forest; water and pit toilets.  You must pack your garbage out.  There were a few other campers there when we arrived, and we were told by one couple that they were having their annual family get together starting on Thursday so others would be arriving.

This girl visited our site most days

There is a small lake, Bull Prairie Lake, with a paved trail all the way around the lake, and 4 or 5 docks, so easy access.     We walked around the trail a couple of times, and saw lots of beautiful wildlife and vegetation.  Click on the photos to embiggen them.

Spotted Sandpiper

She was settled right in

The trail

Wild Rose

Lots of Ducklings

Nine-Spot Skimmer

Leaves on the surface

Osprey with Babies

Snake stalking a bug

One of our group brought a couple of kayaks, and I had mine, so we got out on the lake for a wonderful paddle.  

After 3 nights, great food, some nasty mosquitoes and a campground that was completely full with mostly the family reunion, we reluctantly packed up on Thursday morning and headed our separate ways.    All agreed, it was the perfect camp trip!

The moon was awesome

Night sky with glowing tent

Night sky.  Lots of stars

Happy Campers

Beautiful drive home

Had to stop at Shaniko for Ice Cream

What is your favorite place in central/eastern Oregon?

Next week I'm off to the Olympic Peninsula for another annual gathering of friends.

Refrigeration Saga

The refrigerator saga continues... We decided, since the Norcold refrigerator was not working, it was ok to tear into it. My mechanic took it apart, and pulled out the circuit board.    Nothing LOOKED fried, no wires appeared worn, so we took the board to a Norcold dealer/service place.  They tested it and determined it was not working.

We had gone on-line to see what it would cost to purchase a new circuit board, and there were places that listed the proper part number, but no pictures, and no refunds, so it would be a gamble to order something.  We asked the service department if they could order one for us, and they came to the same conclusion, too risky.

My next trip I'll be taking a regular cooler.    I tried to rent a YETI, the smallest one will fit in the Norcold spot, but they are very expensive to buy, and because of the thick walls, there is very little space left inside for food once you put ice in it.    The Ace Hardware rental place sells them, but doesn't rent them, even though they are listed as providing that service  on the Norcold web site.

I'm struggling a bit with what to do.  When the Norcold worked it was awesome!   AND I'm reluctant to spend the money to buy a new one, because the old one never really worked correctly accept for 9 days on my last trip, before it died.    On the other hand, if I buy a new one, from the same place that tested the old circuit board (they were very nice, very helpful and charged nothing to test the one and do the research on purchasing a new board), it would come with a 2 year warranty, and a brick and mortar business to go to if I have problems.  And we will be changing the big fuse to a smaller one.

This is really the ONE last thing that is not right with Waddles.  I love her and want her to be perfect. I'm probably going to bite the bullet and buy a new Norcold.

In the mean time, I'm heading out Monday for a 3 night/4 day dry camping trip with good friends.    I'll post pictures when I get back.

And....How is YOUR summer going?   Mine is going WAY TOO FAST!     I'm harvesting snow peas, garlic and radishes from the garden.