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Travel Resources |
2008: Howard Prairie Lake Resort |
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| August 14, 2008: We decided to try tenting at Jedediah Smith State Park in northern California but found it full. We drove on to Loeb State Park in southern Oregon. We arrived late in the day with just enough time to set up camp. |
| August 15, 2008: We quickly learned to watch for the ice cream man and his son selling very tasty treats and bags of ice for our cooler. We were about 100 yards from the Chetco River so if we weren't sitting the edge of the river watching Morgan swim, waiting for the ice cream man was the most exciting thing to happen each day. Click the photo to see a better view of the ice cream man and his son. |
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August 16, 2008: Loeb State Park is a reserve for the Myrtlewood Tree. Morgan is standing in front of one of the trees. Myrtlewood is used in Oregon mostly for decorative home items because of it's distinctive grain pattern. It is especially prized for turning bowls. Alfred Loeb donated the land for Loeb State Park to save the Myrtle trees Myrtle entrepreneurs.
The mouth of the Chetco River is between Harbor and Brookings Oregon. The Chetco flows through Loeb state park and is used for swimming and other recreational activities. Click the photo below to see who enjoys the Chetco the most on our camping trip. |
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| August 17, 2008: The annual Art Fair was happening in the harbor area of southern Oregon. There were many quality craftmen exhibiting at the fair. The crowds seemed to be shopping as well as looking. The weather was perfect for the fair, about 80 degrees and a very lite breeze. This area can have very strong winds so the fair exhibitors and attendees were lucky. Click the photo to enlarge. |
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This was the Didgeridoo booth where I bought a Didgeridoo as a Christmas gift for my son Joe. It seems easy enough to play but mastering what they call "circular breathing" will be a challenge. Click the photo at the left to enlarge.
You can see the harbor area an Art Fair below. The Pacific Ocean is just beyond the end of the jetty. Click the photo below to enlarge. |
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August 21, 2008: This morning started slowly. The parks department was out early mowing the tall weeds and grass along the Bear Creek Greenway bike trail I ride to work. That throws rocks and worse ... thorns and thorny branches onto the trail. I knew I was going to be lucky if I made it through the obstacle course without getting a flat. I didn't make it. I took a puncture in the rear tire. I had already used my spare tube to fix the front tire a few days earlier so I had to find and repair the puncture. My wheels pop off easily and I had the tube in my hands in a flash. But my pump did not seem to work. I hadn't used it for ages so I figured the cylinder gasket had dried out and I had no oil to get it to reseal. I did have chap stick however, so used that on the cylinder seal. The pump still did not seem to work until I realized the air was coming out of the tube so quickly, I couldn't pump it up to find the hole. I pumped with the tube near my ear to try to hear and feel the hole ... found it, patched it and hoped that was the only hole. It was. Normally I can fix a flat in seven minutes but it was more like 20 minutes this morning. The drug enforcement team was scouting the area this morning for random Pot plants... it's that time of year. They didn't offer to land and help me with my tire. While I was making the repair, at least half the trail riders stopped to make sure I had everything I needed to fix the flat. Cyclists are good about that. One even offered me his spare tube but I had already made my repair by then. |
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| August 22, 2008: After our Chapter 37 rally in early August we've been thinking about boondocking because Kathi and Carl are members of the boondocker's group. Kathi emailed us some great information today. One is The RV Battery Charging Puzzle by Robert Shearer. It's a great article of how to get your RV battery charging system operating perfectly. The photo is of us boondocking in southern Arizona last December. Click to enlarge. |
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September 4, 2008: Howard Prairie Lake Resort holds a pot luck dinner the day after Labor Day. Many of the seasonal employees begin leaving the week of Labor Day. It has always astounded me how campers leave the resort at Labor Day. About 10% of the resort is still rented but as it gets toward the end of September, most will leave. What is surprising about this is the weather is perfect and the lake is still 90% full. This would be a great time for retired folks to be here. All the services are still offered.
At the end of the pot luck, Banjo Bill teaches us how to play spoons. You'd think it would be easy but Bill's sound is certainly better than all us. |
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| September 6, 2008: Gwen and I went to the Britt Festivals this evening. The headline event was Bill Evans (pictured below). Bill plays tenor sax, clarinet and piano. He plays something called soulgrass. It sounded like jazz to me. The John Jorgenson Quintet was the opening act (photo above). John was incredible on guitar. Both groups had a jazz violin. My daughter, Mindy, plays jazz violin so I was wishing she had been at the concert with us. Gwen and I enjoyed both groups and the lesson in new music styles for us. |
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| September 7, 2008: Our friends Alona and Jim are heading south tomorrow morning. They are experienced workampers who have taught us much about the workamping possibilities. They are off to three weeks of family then to manage a pumpkin patch in southern California for a month. We hope to meet up with them during our winter vacation to Arizona. |
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September 15, 2008: Not just another Monday traveling to work. This morning as I'm climbing toward the summit to decend to work, I'm greeted with a full moon. My road passes between the tree right where the moon is sitting right now. Unfortunately, in the two minutes it took me to travel that distance, the moon had moved on to another mountain range further in the distance. Click the photo to enlarge. |
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| September 28, 2008: We attended the Mountain View Christian Church this morning for the second time. This is a new building, only one year old with a small congregation but very friendly. Gwen normally works on Sunday so it is rare that we get a chance to attend. We like small churches. In the mountains, a church like this is important as churches were a hundred years ago. Neighbors need to look out for each other in the mountains and a church is a good place to keep in touch with what's happening with neighbors. |
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| September 30, 2008: It's that time of year where I've leaving for work before the sun is up. This is the sunrise over Howard Prairie this morning on the way to work. Click the photo to enlarge. |
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| October 2, 2008: This time of year, we have the campground to ourselves. We are located higher on the hill from the Lake. Most of the campers still visiting this time of year choose to camp closer to the lake which leaves us in the quiet portion of the campground. Note our TV and Internet satellite dishes to the left. We must set them so far from the trailer to get a view of the southern sky. Click the photo to enlarge. |
October 5, 2008: Last week Gwen and I watch the Vice Presidential debate. Gwen and I generally cancel each other's vote so we both watched with interest. We both noticed the use of the word "tolerate" in reference to the gay community. Today we received an email from a lesbian friend who educated us to the use of the word "tolerate". I had already felt there was something wrong with the word since its use implies those that "tolerate" are in the "approved" group and only "tolerate" those who are outside the group. There is something wrong with this thinking and "tolerate" needs to be exchanged with some other word. Jen's email will help. Click here to read her email. |
| October 9. 2008: The first snow of the fall. Not much, about 3 inches, but it made the roads very slick so I had to creep down the mountain. I had anticipated the cold weather so disconnected and drained the water lines last night. They may not have frozen since it only got to 30 last night but I didn't want to fool with a frozen hose in the morning. |
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October 14, 2008: Pepper is back on the lake. My friend Jack has sold Pepper to a new friend, Gordon. Gordon put Pepper on the lake about three weeks ago. I met Gordon about two weeks ago and learned about Pepper. Gordon had already read my account and learned how to launch Pepper from my pages. Gordon also invited me to sail Pepper any time. I plan to take him up on the offer next year. This is dawn on the lake. Pepper is on the right. Click the photo to enlarge. |
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| October 15, 2008: This is the view from this morning commute. Only two more times down this mountain and then my commute will only be 5 miles rather than the current 35 miles. The valley shows fog which is normal for this time of year. However, by the time I got into the valley the fog was gone. Click the photo to enlarge. |
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