Archives for 2014

After having left our $5 camping fee in the iron ranger at the other campground, we headed out for California, winding our way back through Oregon, then down into California, where the moment we crossed the border it became an agricultural dream. We passed thousands of acres of green fields dozens of semis filled with hay and alfalfa, and lots of other grasses and similar crops. We arrived in Alturas, where we got gas, groceries and liquor, stopping for a couple of bales of hay (at a whopping $22 for a grass/alfalfa mix and $20 for grass hay, albeit it 3-string, 110 pound bales) because Clio just won't eat the stuff I bought up in Bellingham, and has started to lose weight because of it, also a stop at the ranger station where they didn't have anything even remotely like a trail map, but did let me know that there is only really one linear trail that runs from one end of the forest to the other, and anything off that trail would be treacherous. We finally headed out to the country road that would get us there, and it turned into dirt with seven miles to go before the horse camp. The road wasn't too bad, having been graded fairly recently, but it was pretty twisty, and had tow one-lane bridges, at which, naturally, I ran into a horse trailer coming from the other direction at the same moment, so I had to back up to give him room to come across. We finally reached the turnoff to Pepperdine Horse Camp, turning by a couple of large pieces of equipment that were evidently doing some kind of road or forest work. We managed to find the campground with no problem as there was good signage, and circled around to find a good spot. There was a spigot by the day parking area, another by the group camping area, and a third up near the individual camping area. Unfortunately, the top one, which was nearest to our camping site, didn't have any water coming out of it, so I stopped to fill up at the lower spigot while Hubby reconnoitered which site would give him the best chance at a satellite signal. I was disappointed in the water situation, but discovered to my delight that I was actually able to get a good enough cell phone signal for both calls and internet!! I had lost the signal miles back, but I guess we climbed close enough to the top of the mountain to clear the obstacles. Eventually, Hubby managed to get a satellite signal, while I ran back down to fill up a rain barrel in the back of the horse trailer for the horses. We were so tired from the drive, I couldn't wait to settle down. It's tough to move every single day, and we hoped that we could settle down here for a spell, though being at almost 7000 feet, the temps were definitely a consideration. We knew nights would be cool, just not sure how cool, we'll have to wait and see. The water situation wasn't promising, because I had hoped to get some laundry done, and the prospect of having to fill a water barrel then sump pump it into the RV for that wasn't particularly attractive. We put both horses in one of the large corrals, though after trying to feed them separately without success, we ended up moving to separate corrals, giving them lots of space, but no shared warmth. We put on their warm blankets just to be on the safe side. Eventually, we finally settled down for the evening, already getting dark by the time we finished all our chores, having seen only one car with a couple and a dog come into the parking area. Otherwise, looks like it will be quiet here, and the best part, it's free!

All packed up and departed at a good time, as we have a little farther to go today. Although I've had a strange feeling about going to Hyatt Lake, mostly because it took us further west, and we had recently changed our plans and decided to head straight for Nevada to get it done (it will make # 50 for horseback riding, and #48 for the horses!), and even suggested to Hubby that maybe we should skip it at head straight for Pepperdine in California, we decided it was too far and headed for Hyatt Lake anyway. Rather than taking a direct though backwoods route, we headed for Klamath Falls, as we had several stops to make. Thanks to GasBuddy.com, I found a place with cheap gas before we go to the city, then we went to a country store to pick up some horse feed and to get propane. It was kind of strange, you had to find a card for what you wanted, then take it to the cashier, then drive through a barn where they loaded you up. That's when the trouble started. They had a very strange parking lot, and when Hubby pulled out of the barn, there was someone blocking his exit to the left, so he turned right, thinking it would swing around back to the main road, but it didn't. It dead-ended, and on a single lane so narrow, he couldn't find anyplace to turn around. In truth, Hubby is not the best at backing and turning with a trailer, so he tried to turn around using a driveway, and then got close to some trees that he though would bend a bit, but then he apparently brushed up again a stiff branch that had been cut back and was hidden in the fir tree, and suddenly the branch popped through the window in the side door of the van. Not the passenger window, but the side door that opens into the side of the van. When he tried to get out, he evidently got caught again somehow, and broke the window of the other side door, so that both windows of both swing out side doors were shattered. Poor Billy leaped into Hubby's lap, and Marina was covered in glass when he finally made it back to the store. Meanwhile, I was getting propane, and was getting a bit annoyed because the guy filling my tanks started asking me about their certification (the tanks are only two years old!), and then, without asking, stuck a warning label on the side of one of my tanks! I told him it wasn't necessary, that I was fully aware that propane was flammable, but he said it wasn't for me, but for anyone else that might be near my RV! I guess it escaped him that we had a cover over the tanks anyway, so his silly label wouldn't be seen, and frankly, anyone who doesn't know that propane is hazardous shouldn't bring their stupidity anywhere near me or my RV. Anyway, I remarked that I would just take it off anyway, so he refrained from putting one on the second tank. Right around then, Hubby showed up and brought me around the van to show me the damage he had done. I OMG'd for a few minutes before facing the reality, then we pulled out of the way and spent a few minutes uncovering Marina from the glass (thank goodness she's too infirmed to move very much, or she might have hurt herself) and soon were on our way. Lots of fresh air in the van! After our final stop at Walmart, we headed east to Hyatt Lake, through some twisty roads, though not too bad, that were paved all the way to the entrance to the "horse camp," which turned out to be not much. We had stopped at the dump to fill up with fresh water for the RV, but the lake was so low from the years of drought the area has been suffering, that we couldn't get anywhere near it. None of the sites were even close to level, and the only place we could park with any hope of a satellite signal was almost to the old waterline, which put us a LONG way from the horse corrals, and all uphill. After struggling for a while trying to get the satellite set up, Hubby gave up, saying there were too many trees in the way. We decided to use water from the trailer for the horses, since we didn't really want to go all the way back to the dump with a rain barrel after this long hard day, though the ranger that came by said we could come by the administration building, but that was almost as far. During the evening, we discussed out options, because this place was just going to be too hard to live in, what with running back a couple miles for water, then having to lug it uphill, not have TV and so on, so we made the decision to head straight to Pepperdine in the Warner Mountain Wilderness on the California border with Nevada. Although that made it pretty much a complete waste of time coming here, at least we saw it, and gave ourselves the time we needed to regroup before heading off into the mountains.

As I mentioned the other day, my purpose for coming to Collier Memorial was to visit Crater Lake National Park, which is only about 25 miles from here, so after a late breakfast and a few chores, Hubby and I packed into the van, invited little Billy to come with us, and headed out for our side trip. Passing through a long stretch of a flat, farm-filled valley, it didn't take long to reach the edge of the forest, and then the national park. We stopped at the visitor center, which was really just a gift shop, and since it didn't have any kind of extensive exhibits other than one diorama of the lake, we jumped back in the van and proceed to make our way around the Rim Road. We made a brief stop at the main village area and got a cup of coffee, and took a walk to our first great view of Crater Lake. For some reason, I had always believed Crater Lake had been formed by an asteroid, but in fact it had been a volcano that blew it's top off about 7700 years ago, then settled into a caldera and filled with snow melt and rainwater, making it the deepest lake in North America, and one of the purest in the world. We took some great pictures, especially when we first arrived, because it was so calm on the lake it reflected the surrounding walls like a perfect mirror, so gorgeous! From there we drove the entire perimeter road around the lake, taking a few side spurs for even more fascinating terrain. At one spot there was a trail, so I took Billy and we walked the half mile loop to see a little island outcropping, oddly similar to the one we saw in Alaska, that also looked like a ship under full sail. It was a lovely day, and the views were so stunning! We have really seen some stuff over the years, and it's amazing there's always something more around every turn! Very glad we came, weather was perfect, crowds were down considerably from what it must be like during the summer, and really had a great day! Got back to camp, did a little preparation for tomorrow's departure, and relaxed for the evening.

Surprisingly, the cell phone signal here is pretty poor, considering we're just a little ways off a major highway, so I went into town to get a little computer work done, and to pick up a few things at the local market in Colquin. Finally tracked down a ranger to pay them for our stay through Monday, at $19 a night for so little facilities, it's a bit high, but my intent is to visit Crater Lake, and this was the nearest conveniently located horse camp, so there you go. After I got back from town, Hubby and I drove down to the logging museum just around the corner, and spent some time wandering through the yard, looking at all the old equipment and the pioneer village, comprised of a variety of small cabins which had originally been in logging camps and homestead areas and moved to this spot. Very interesting history, and some huge cross-cuts from some of the early growth trees. According to them, early loggers consumed 8000 calories a day just to keep up with the hard work they had to do. It was fascinating to learn of the clever advances in technology that made that hard job easier, and also the decline of the industry because of labor and environmental conflicts. Such a shame, too, I hate having so many things made out of pressboard and plastic, when wood would be so much more attractive. Anyway, it was a delightful journey through history, not to mention a lovely walk on a beautiful afternoon.

After a couple of uneventful and restful days, we prepared for our trek southward, as once again packed up and headed out of camp, this time to a horse camp just 70 miles away, in the Collier Memorial State Park, behind the Logging Museum. The horse camp turned out to be parking lot with four log corrals and a picnic table, but it did have a spigot with running, potable water, yeah!! We hooked up and filled our tanks, then ran a hose to one of our portable water barrels, which I put on a picnic table so that gravity would work better, and filled that up, too. We had some challenges with the satellite dish again, as there were a lot of tall trees surrounding us, but Hubby finally managed it again, after a struggle. We parked along a barb wire fence, so the back yard view isn't very interesting, but there's room for the ramp for Marina to come up and down okay. She seems to be doing significantly better since we started her on Cosequin chews a few months ago. She still struggles, of course, but she does seem to be getting around better than before. Later, a couple of ranger types came out to look at a tree that had fallen down nearby, partly over the road, and did a little clean up. One was the State Park Ranger, a new guy that also happened to be a horse guy, and he was happy to see someone using the "camp." We got the impression it was a rarity, especially when a couple of the kids riding bikes in the neighborhood stared at us like we had just landed from Mars. Anyway, we settled down for the night, happy to be a little bit further south!