Greetings from Casey’s Riverside RV Park in stunningly gorgeous Westfir, Oregon. A planned one-night stop for laundry turned into a two night stop for fun.
Lessons learned so far:
1) You probably aren’t going to be able to hike above
the tree line if people are still skiing in the resorts. (Hello?
Why is this a lesson? What was I thinking?)
2) Partial shade and partial sun and nights below
freezing are the trifecta of conditions leading to your batteries only lasting
three nights in one place. (And yes, I
could have just plugged Beagle into Wurzig and run the engine but that would be
dangerously close to using a generator—something I cannot stand to hear in a
campground.)
3) Cell service matters greatly in the shoulder
season: Between road conditions and
needing to find alternate places to stay, having access to the internet is vital.
Now back to the regular program.
Here’s the thing about me and Wind: I can’t stand it. Well, most of it; I do enjoy a warm, caressing island breeze particularly at night, nothing better than that, but for the most part the rest of Earth’s breath I would rather not feel. So, despite being all alone next to Eagle Lake in Northern California,
I have rituals while camping that keep me sane and, more
importantly, breathing easily which is hard to do when you are allergic to dust
and your little white dog who sheds like nobody’s business: Every morning I shake out the bedding and
hang it on the door while I vacuum out Beagle and the dog beds.
My morning at Eagle Lake was no different; I had the back
door open on Beagle and upon the front door hung my down comforter. But not for long: The wind, which had been a constant cold companion
for twelve hours, burst into hyper mode and Swoosh! Away flew my comforter! And Swoosh!
The wind whipped right through Beagle’s two doors, pulling River’s bed
out the back.
Yep, all into the dirt.
This was the first time I thought that I might need a spa appointment.
The second time was when I had learned from the Ranger’s office that I would not be able to reach my campground in the Three Sisters Wilderness due to snow closures.
The third was the morning I made the appointment.
I found the lady via the Yonka website, a brand of cleansers and lotions that I have been using for over twenty years, she was practicing in
Bend—where I was headed instead of Cougar Crossing. I thought if nothing else, I could stock up
on supplies but booked an appointment for a full facial. It was raining and cold and I needed a treat.
And here’s the thing about me and Facials: I rarely let anyone give me one except for
Ollga in Seattle. I have tried other
places and have been disappointed. But I
knew I was in for a treat when I was led into the warm, inviting therapy room, asked
to put on a terry cloth wrap (engineered to leave your shoulders and chest bare
so they can massage them while the masks are working their magic on your face)
and climb into the heated bed.
Ahh.
A little small talk ensued to get us both comfortable, I
quickly discovered that, despite looking like a city lady, she was as much of a
camper as myself.
“Where
have you camped so far?” she asked.
“Bass
Lake, Lopez Lake, Reno for laundry and repairs, Eagle Lake. I was supposed to camp at Scott Creek but
when my navigation system suggested a turn onto a dirt road for six miles with
a snow storm moving it, I headed down to La Pine State Park instead—which I found wonderful.”
“La Pine
is great but you have to watch out for cougars.”
This actually made me laugh out loud—not an easy thing when
someone is massaging your face.
“Opus and I enjoyed a six-mile hike
there during which I actually said to myself, ‘It’s so nice not to have to
worry about cougars.’”
After that not much was said. I enjoyed the feeling of potions being
applied to my skin, listening to the expensive jars of face cream being opened
and closed and then…then…could it be?
The boiling hiss of the warm mist machine! First introduced to me by Ollga, it is a
device that heats up water (scented with Yonka’s spray lotion, of course) and
then puffs it across your face much like a warm, caressing island breeze. I was a million miles away walking along a beach,
my feet in the sand and nothing but warmth surrounding me.
Then all too soon, it was over. My skin was radiant; I felt like a new
person.
The weather continued to be a challenge with only partially
sunny skies and below freezing nights but Opus and I managed to get in one
great hike, almost seven miles up Tumalo Creek.
The day was mostly sunny and we were both feeling so great that I let
Opus run free--until I saw the cougar prints in the snow.
And here’s the thing about me and Fate: If you believe in Fate life becomes very
simple. You see a cougar print and you
think, “Well, if it is my fate to be mauled to death by a cougar, I can’t
imagine a more scenic spot than this.”
It was indeed gorgeous.
With no electric sites available at Tumalo State Park, the partial sun and partial shade of my pitch not allowing for much solar generation, and Beagle’s batteries at 32%, it was time to hitch her up. And if I was going to hitch her up, I was going to see something new. So we left Bend a day early and headed south.
What?
Yes, it felt very odd on my Northwest Tour to be heading
south, but I still wanted to visit Westfir, the town just below my original
camping spot of Cougar Crossing (the name of which, by now, was taking on a whole new
meaning.) So 97 South to 58 West and
what a gorgeous drive that is!
Definitely an area that will need further exploration. Odell Lake, Waldo Lake, high mountain passes,
rushing rivers below and plenty of Snow Parks to pull into and take some time
to enjoy it all. I cannot wait to return
in the Fall.
Today Opus and hiked up into the snow again, it’s our last
mountain adventure until we reach either the Sawtooth Range in Idaho or the
Wind River Range in Wyoming. So we
soaked it all in.
Hard to believe tomorrow we will be at sea level--and enjoying some of the most beautiful coastline imaginable. Oregon is one magical place.
-K
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