Anthony Lakes

Those of you who know me, know I used to play in a Marimba Band in La Grande, Kupenga Marimba.   I moved away from La Grande about 9 years ago, but the band invited me to perform with them when they are short handed, and I LOVE getting back together with them to play.    It is a wonderful group of people, and the music is delightful.     They have invited me to play with them at the Pendleton Farmers Market on October 7, so I have been practicing at home a lot, since the last time I played with them was before Covid.     Practicing on my soprano instrument only goes so far, so I traveled to La Grande to practice with them, on the Band instruments, last Monday.     I decided to make a Waddles trip out of it.

I dropped Waddles off at the Anthony Lakes Campground (one of my favorite Forest Service campgrounds) before practice and easily found a place.   This is high elevation, so getting cold this time of year, and I figured there would be lots of open sites.  I was right.

Then I drove back to La Grande to meet a friend for dinner before band practice.    I alway take back roads, and so drove through North Powder and Union to get back to town.   Along that road is this historical plaque.   It honors Maria Dorian, an amazing woman who was a contemporary of Sacagawea.     Her story is documented in a historical fiction book series by Jane Kirkpatrick.    

After practice I drove back up to the campground and crawled into Waddles for the night.    It is delightfully DARK and QUIET there.

I got up early the next morning to hike up to the top of the ski area (I was on a mission to find some geocaches).   This area has lakes, mountains, wildflowers, wildlife and is one of my favorite places to hike.

At the top, there are some interpretive signs about the Whitebark Pine trees which are a high alpine species.    There were lots of Clark's Nutcrackers, and Mountain Chickadees about. 

Hofer Lake

Fall is coming...

At one geocache I had to run a gauntlet of deer to get to the cache.   We all remained calm and moved slowly and it all worked out fine.

The old bridge

The new bridge

And then it was time to head back home.    Of course I took the back roads.

The bushes are turning, and were beautiful 

Out in the middle of nowhere!

I am hoping to get out with Waddles at least one more time.   I will be going back over to practice with the band in early October, so we will see; two days after I was at Anthony Lakes, they got 4" of snow.    Winter is coming.

 

Wisconsin & Illinois

Wisconsin is such a beautiful state.    I got up early and drove to my nieces house.  It was wonderful to see her place and her lovely family.    She has become a skilled chicken farmer, breeder, eggs and meat producer.     

I decided to leave Waddles in Wisconsin and drive to Illinois without her.     I booked a hotel for the next 4 nights and left Wisconsin to visit my sister, my other niece and her family, and my brother-in-law.    My sister has been having health issues, and this entire trip was centered around spending time with her.

I didn't take many photos while I was there, but did spend every day with my sister and lots of time with my brother-in-law.    I attended some little league softball games which were a delight.    Got to briefly  meet my nieces' new T@G trailer (we are a 2-T@G family now!).

I visited an amazing Yarn Store (because that is what I do!).    It was so big they had shopping carts!  For those of you who don't visit yarn stores, that is not normal!

After 5 days I said my good-byes, and headed back up to Wisconsin to pick up Waddles and decide how I was going to drive home.    If you recall, I drove straight east on I-90.   On the way home I wanted to take the roads less traveled.    Driving on the freeway has the advantage of allowing me to drive a comfortable speed without feeling like I am holding up traffic.   I am much less apt to stop and take in the local sites however, and I prefer more scenic and interesting roads.

It was a wet drive back to Wisconsin.   I spent the night there, said my goodbyes, and hit to road early.    I will create a new post for the trip home.

And we are off!

 Day 1 is under our belt.  It was a mostly easy day to Northeastern Washington.    Waddles and I got a pretty early start.

Everything on Waddles is working perfectly, all my food fit nicely into the fridge.  Early on I had 14 motorcycles pass me on the highway and I had the thought that they might be heading for Sturgus, South Dakota, which I will be passing through.  I had to look up the dates to see if that gathering would be going on when I was there, and fortunately it is not.   That would be a madhouse I would rather miss!

The drive was nice and in familiar territory so I don't yet really feel like I am on a big road trip.   Tomorrow will change that feeling I am sure.

Tonight I am mooch docking in front of a friend"s house.  Went out for a lovely dinner with friends and had a good visit.   It will be early to bed, and early to rise for this girl!  Tomorrow I head into uncharted territory.  

It appears that comments are being posted as Anonymous, including my responses, so I ask that you include at least your first name in your comments.  THANKS   I will do the same.

Planning

 After a lot of years of just making short trips, of 3-5 days, I am planning another long road trip to visit my sister and her family in the midwest.    I am thinking about how different this planning is, than it was the first long trip I took.  That trip, in 2016, was RIGHT after I purchased Waddles.   It was all new to me, and I had only taken her out for a short 2-night outing close to home.    What I remember about that planning experience is I wanted to make sure I had EVERYTHING I might need.   I had a big camp table, a Coleman stove, lots and lots of food and other do-dads I might need.     What I learned from that experience, and from all the Waddles trips I have gone on since, is that I don't need a lot of stuff.     I feel pretty comfortable with the bare minimum.   Kitchen stuff, some food, a small screen tent for shade, and bug abatement, chair, shower stuff, and clothing.    For this longer trip, I am taking laundry stuff, and extra set of sheets.  No extra stove, big table (only a small folding table), minimum of clothing and 'might need' things. 

I have had my car checked and serviced, I have new tires (because the old ones were very worn), I have had my resident mechanic work on the Waddles wiring because my lights have been acting funny.   Turns out the ground wire on the trailer was brittle and had broken.  It has now been fixed and is working just fine.    Have I mentioned that having resident mechanic is very handy?

I have gone through my entire car, and Waddles, emptied out EVERYTHING and got rid of duplicates and other things I do not need to have.    I am debating about taking some sort of heat source.  I have a small electric heater and a small Heater Buddy propane heater, both of which I have used successfully on past trips.    Because this trip is in July, I don't think I will need heat, but I haven't decided yet.    I did check the Air Conditioner (which I have never really used) and it seems to be working fine.     I have extra fuses, a good spare tire (for both the car and Waddles) and i have AAA on my speed dial, just in case.  I have the trailer registration in hand, my passport (because who knows, I might decide to come home the long way).

I also have a SPOT tracker, for emergencies, and so my family can keep track of where I am.

I have reservations at a KOA Campground near my sister, but plan to just wing it for the rest of the trip.    The small concerns I do have are 1) it is peak vacation season, so campgrounds may be full, and 2) it's gonna be HOT and HUMID in the midwest.    AND I will deal with both of these things.

I have piles; what goes in the car, what goes in the kitchen, what goes in Waddles.  I have books to read, knitting to knit, sketchbooks to draw and paint in, camera to shoot with, binoculars for birding.   

Essentials 

Sorting the kitchen

In the kitchen and the car

Things to do

 

In the car

I have about a week before the trip, and I think I will be ready.  I am excited to be hitting the road with Waddles.   Stay tuned to this blog for trip updates as I go.

What are you doing with your summer?