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.