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.

Nothing Ordinary About It

Hi all.    I have been wanting to post to the blog for a while, but... well... you know... I'm not Wandering with Waddles, for obvious reasons.     I had planned to go to the Ladd Marsh Bird Festival last weekend; cancelled.   I planned to go to the Montana Association of Weavers and Spinners Conference in June; cancelled.   I'd hoped to get an early spring trip to the Southwest; not happening. And I am hoping to drive the Beartooth Highway, but that won't even be a consideration until July or August, and who knows what our situation will be then.

I am sad each time I see Waddles idle in the garage, and think I need to take her out for a spin, just because.   When the weather improves I will do that.  Right now it is a cool, wet spring, so I am waiting.

In the mean time I am thinking about how to get out, responsibly.   So I am going to post some good resources to determine what is open and what restrictions exist.

National Parks - Lists what is open and what is not

Forest Service - FAQ's

BLM lands - Searchable by State

Campendium - This one links to all kinds of information resources.

The Dyrt - Another page with links to all kinds of information about closure status

Dispersed Camping on National Forests - this does not list closures, but has links to local offices which would have that information.

If you follow all these links you should be able to get whatever current information is available for using campgrounds and public lands.

How are you passing the time?

Stay well, stay happy, wear a mask and wash your hands.

I have gotten out to do some birding and photography close to home, so I give you some photos.

Fox Sparrow

Rufous Hummingbird

Old School

Old Church

Arrowleaf Balsomroot

Columbia River Gorge

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.

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.