Out again...

It is HOT outside!!!   Waddles and I did a wander down near Mt Jefferson, here in Oregon.    Met up with a friend for a hike, and since it was a pretty long drive for me we decided to camp for a couple nights at Jack Creek Campground on the Deschutes National Forest.    It is a small, but lovely campground next to Jack Creek and with large sites, and lots of big Pine trees.

Jack Creek Campground

We got settled in for the first night and fortunately it cooled off enough to be able to sleep.  We were up and on the road for a hike by 8am.    Got to the trailhead of Jack Lake Trail by 9am and there were already quite a few cars there.

This trail leads up to a Circ on the side of Three Finger Jack.   My friend had been here a few years before, and knew the wildflowers would be peaking right now.   It was BEAUTIFUL    The trail climbs and winds though an old wildfire, maybe 10 years old.   The pine trees are coming back and provided a little bit of shade for the hike.

We didn't climb as high as the alpine lake (the last little bit is a vertical scramble), but rather chose to go down into the meadow that was awash with blooming lupin, paintbrush, columbine and a lot of other wildflowers.    I didn't haul my big camera on the hike so these are iPhone photos, but you get the idea.

The hike was  8 miles round trip, and a large part of the trail is a one-way loop, so you are not passing people much.   Very pleasant.   

                   

                  Mariposa Lily                     

We were both happy to get back to the car after a 4 hour hike.   It was getting quite warm and a cold drink and sticking our feet in Jack Creek sounded really good!

After cooling in camp for a bit we decided to drive over to Camp Sherman to see if the store had ice cream and ice.     They did, and were practicing good social distancing.  The ice cream was yummy and the ice provided for more cold drinks back at camp.

It was 10 degrees cooler next to the creek, so we moved our chairs there and did a little knitting/spinning and went to bed when it got dark.

The next day were needed to check out of the campground by noon, so we got up and took a little hike from the campground to the headwaters of Jack Creek.  It was about a mile out and a mile back.   There was a lot of brush along the trail and the birds were abundant!    We were not able  to positively identify a  bunch of them, but there were Nuthatches, Mountain Chickadees, Juncos, Warblers and more.

We packed up camp and headed toward our respective homes, having had a lovely visit and a couple wonderful hikes in a beautiful area that I am not very familiar with.   The refrigerator worked GREAT!!

Next week Waddles and I are off on a MUCH ANTICIPATED trip.   We are finally going to drive the Beartooth Highway to Red Lodge Montana.     This will be a little different for us.  My brother is going with me, and we will be pulling Waddles with his van, so he has a place to sleep!

Stay tuned, this should be an amazing trip.    Another good friend is going to house sit.    She will have the company of these little lovelies... we call them Fawnzy and Blondzy.

Shake-down

You know I have been itching to get Waddles out for an adventure, so we decided to take a little trip, close to home.     This lovely campground is about 25 miles from home, but Upper Eight-Mile Campground is a hidden gem.      It is first-come-first-served, has no water, and very clean vault toilets.    We decided to head there on Monday, hoping the weekend crowds would be gone.   Leaving home it looked like rain, but because this campground is toward the 'dry' side, we were hoping for the best.  We were right on both counts.   It started raining on the drive over, but was dry when we arrive.    There were only two sites occupied, one was the campground host, the other had 3 cars and a couple tent.  

We chose a quiet spot far from either occupied site, right next to the creek, close to the outhouse, surrounded by BIG trees.     The only down side was it got quite cold!  The host told us that it had been 34° that morning.  We arrived at about 6pm and it was cooling off quickly.

We got Waddles settled in, and set up the side tent, in the event of rain, built a fire and enjoyed a quiet but cold evening.

I use my little heater-buddy to take the chill off inside Waddles and settled in for the night.     Woke to sunshine in the morning and spent some time exploring and sitting in a sunbeam, it was still pretty chilly, but NOT 34°, thankfully.  The sunshine didn't last long, and the clouds moved in and the temp dropped.

After coffee and some breakfast we decided to explore the interpretive trail that connects this campground with the Lower Eightmile Crossing Campground (which only has 3 sites).    The walk was perfect, the wildflowers were not showy, but there were a lot of them.    We saw a deer (didn't get a photo).  Turns out the hike is less than 1/2 mile each way. (it is a lot further to drive between the two).

Vanilla leaf, Deer Foot

Woods Strawberry

Serviceberry

Star Solomon's seal

The new Norcold refrigerator and the new deep cycle batteries worked GREAT!  Food stayed cold, battery stayed fully charged.   Because there wasn't much sun, I didn't even pull the solar panel out of the car.

We were so close to home, and had obligations the next couple days, so ended up only spending one night out.   It was a great shake-down trip.   Between elderly cats and lockdown, it seems like a very long time since we have been anywhere.     I am ready to go again!

Mt Hood looked a bit ominous on the drive home.

I'm alive!

I have been woefully neglectful of my blog!    My summer camping plans were mostly caboshed by geriatric cats.    Unfortunately I had to put both of them down, within a month of each other.   It is the hardest part of pet ownership, but it was clearly time for both of them.

So I don't have any Waddles adventures to report, except that I finally gave up on the Norcold Fridge.   I waffled for a long time about what to do for a replacement.   Just use a regular cooler?  Splurge for a Yeti (why the heck are they so outrageously expensive?).     I finally bit the bullet and ordered another  Norcold.    I tried to purchase one through an RV dealership, but they were not able to do that for me, so I ordered on-line.   It was spendy, but I really liked the old one when it worked.  

Since I didn't do any camping after this purchase and installation, I can't report on how well it might be working.    I am hoping that the first one was just a lemon, and this one will live a long and productive life.  

With no kitties, I anticipate a lot more adventures next summer.   I am planning already.

Waddles is safely tucked in the garage for the winter, and I am settling in to many fiber projects; spinning, weaving, knitting, etc.   Since I don't have any Waddles adventure photos I will leave you with a photo of my LOVELY Great Wheel.    I am actually spinning quite successfully on this wheel.