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The Resort 2006 Season, Part 2 |
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April 29, 2006: Our return to Howard Prairie Lake Resort from the Chico Spring Escapade was during perfect weather. Driving north on Interstate 5, Mt. Shasta could be seen in the distance while we were still 100+ miles from the mountain. I prefer to take highway 97 at Weed California driving toward Klamath Falls because the climb to Howard Prairie is far more gentle this route than taking Dead Indian Road, my commute route. The drive went very well with everything working perfectly. We did stop in Red Bluff to dump our holding tanks at the Red Bluff RV Park. I had only intended to dump the gray water since our black water was clogged and I needed full hook up to clear it. The only dump Red Bluff RV Park offered us was a full hook up at one of their sites for $7. We spent nearly 2 hours hooked up cleaning out all tanks. I've never had a problem with the black water tank but it was sure clogged this time. After clearing all tanks, I poured a gallon of vinegar into each gray water tank along with some water and my solution of laundry detergent and water softener into the black water tank. I wanted these solutions to "dance" in the tanks all the way to Howard Prairie. The Red Bluff RV Park is a wonderful park with plenty of space and a swimming pool. It would be a nice park for a stop in the valley. As it turns out, we were lucky to not have a MAJOR disaster during our return trip because of a problem with the hitch. I plan to write a separate page showing and explaining what happened. |
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| Arriving at Howard Prairie, we were able to back into our permanent space at Y50. That puts us into the trees, not on the lake as we were before leaving for Chico. It really felt good to be back into our quiet, dark space. Today I spent most of the morning reconnecting the Internet with a great deal of trouble getting a good signal. I'm still not pleased with the signal but will blame the satellite for now. I drove to Grants Pass to pick up the deck, lawn chairs, plus odds and ends. |
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April 30, 2006: While Gwen worked at the resort, I spent the day building the deck and cleaning up camp. The deck has turned out great and much easier to get into the trailer now. It is not finished yet. I must buy the lumber for the railing which will hide the storage area and for the upper deck. You can see the whole story of today's deck building by clicking here. |
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May 1, 2006: This is our friend Jimmy. He worked at the resort all last season and began work again this season. Last season I gave Jimmy the giant 27" television I removed from the corner cabinet. Jimmy always made sure we were well taken care of. He filled our propane tanks when needed and helped with other odd things like delivering the tall ladder I needed when I strung the Internet cable through the trees. Our satellite dish sits on a stump next to Jimmy's trailer. Jimmy's home is in Missouri where he spent the winter months with his girlfriend. He got a call from her last week to say she had been promoted and needed Jimmy to return home to manage the farm while she traveled with her new job. He seemed to have mixed feelings about leaving because he came by the trailer to say good-bye three times today. We will miss him. |
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| May 3, 2006: Only five miles from Howard Prairie Lake is Hyatt Lake but it is 500 feet higher in elevation. Only two weeks ago it was still frozen but on our drive yesterday to Tuesday night speghetti, the ice was gone. You can see a view of Hyatt Lake from the Table Mountain Bike ride. The sign says 10 MPH limit on the lake. I'd say that would be a problem that day. |
| May 6, 2006: Remember our first camp site, W-19. The lake is at 105% now, so much of the site is underwater. There has been no precipitation since the snow storm the first night we spent at W-19. The lake is rising because the snow is slowly melting with the 60 degree weather we have each day. Last year, it began raining in mid-April and did not stop until mid-June. |
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| May 10, 2006: So what is the Pool Pile? The Pool Pile is a pile of mud, gravel and snow to about 4 feet high. All the staff at the resort has kicked in $1 to buy a day of the month. If all the snow melts and only mud and gravel remain on the date you purchased, you get the Pool Pot with all the dollar bills. I picked May 19, nine days from today while Gwen has May 30. The days have been 55-65 degrees with above freezing nights. I think I have a chance but this is a pretty big block of snow and ice. |
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May 21, 2006: This is a great use for a old washing machine tub. We noticed many seasoned campers using them last year and acquired our own for this year. It sure helps to keep the fire safe and burning.
A note about the May 10 story above, the snow pile melted completely on May 19, the date I chose many weeks ago. That gave me the $12 pool, enough for several days of desserts at the restaurant. |
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| May 25, 2006: During the weekend, Gwen must work in the restaurant at the resort. I have her convinced that I slave all day cleaning and repairing things around the "house". Here is a photo of me work'n. The book I'm reading details the life of a full time RV person with "tips and tricks" for successfully living in 300 square feet. It's an older book. I found many of the suggestions to be out-dated and did not even read the chapter on communication, the Internet did not exist when this book was written. Still, I found many of the comments and suggestions interesting. |
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| May 27, 2006: It's been snowing on and off all night with about four inches of accumulation. I dropped the awning to it's maximum angle and still knocked snow off the awning 3 times before going to bed. This is a disappointing start to the Memorial Day weekend. There are lots of campers here this weekend and I'm sure they would have appreciated the weather we had a couple of weeks ago. The temperature has risen to 36 degrees so the trees are letting loose the snow from their branches onto the top of the trailer. It sounds like we are in a tin fort during a snowball fight and we are losing. However, I'm playing Prokofiev's CD, "The Love for Three Oranges" and "Lieutenant Kije Suite" to compliment the sound of the snow bombardment. This is mostly for the visiting Grandkids to expose them to music other than the crap they listen to. |
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May 29, 2006, Memorial Day: Here at the lake, we finally got some sun without snow and rain starting today. That makes it time to launch a few sailboats. In this case, these are new sailors who own a boat they've never had in the water before today. The Howard Prairie Staff had to show them how to put their sailboat with a tall fixed keel into the water. They don't exactly have the right wheel on the front of the trailer but made it work. The story will be different when they try to retrieve the boat from the water.
This year most campers were huddled in their trailers to keep warm from the snow and rain or using their boats to find the fish. Last year it was a different story. |
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| As the trailer enters the water the front wheel begins to turn taking the boat further away from the dock. The helpers hang onto the lines as long as they can before the end of the line forces them to let go. |
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The crew man on board throws the line to the helpers on the opposite dock. Finally the boat floats free of the trailer and the pickup tows the trailer back out of the water. |
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