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Commute from the RV Camp |
| Click here to see the 2005 commute photos. |
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May 5, 2006: Cinco de Mayo commute this morning found a helicopter, pilot and support crew only a few miles from the lake. I'm not sure what they would be spraying for but perhaps one of the Gypsy Moth traps I found last year contained a moth. The support truck had a large tank and it looked like the crew had just finished filling the spray tanks as I arrived. I suspect it was to be an all day spray. |
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May 16, 2006: Each morning when leaving the resort for my "day job" in Medford, I pass within 10 miles of the base of Mt. McLaughlin. This shield volcano is 9,496 feet, about 5,000 feet above the surrounding mountains. It is very impressive this time of year with snow still present on the slopes. During the summer, the snow will melt and it seems like a large mound of dirt. This is a popular mountain to climb in the summer. It can be done in one day, although I haven't tried it yet. |
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May 30, 2006: In southern Oregon we have our share of California drivers either returning to or leaving the state. This apparently bored California driver needs something to keep him awake on the return trip home. I'd have lifted my shirt but my Mother trained me to drive with both hands on the wheel. |
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| May 31, 2006: A new storm is arriving today. This is typical May weather in southern Oregon. You can check last year at this time to see some of the same weather patterns. You can always check the "Archive" at the bottom of the "What's New" page to view how I got to this point. This photo was taken during my commute south into Ashland on Interstate 5, just a few miles ahead. My mountain resort home is to the left of this photo and 3,000 feet higher than the valley floor. From this point, I will be home in 35 minutes. |
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| June 2, 2006: Steve and Cheryl asked to see what poison oak looked like since Steve had a case of poison ivy reaction while gardening for a workamper job. They were concerned with accidentally touching poison oak if they didn't know what it looked like. There is no poison oak at the resort because it does not grow at this altitude but as you learned last year, there is plenty to observe during my commute. I stopped to pick a branch to bring to Steve and took a photo at the same time. I used a plastic bag to gather a sample but I still washed my hands three times after arriving at the trailer and did not let Steve even touch the plastic bag, I just held it for him. So this is what it looks like in June, if you click the link above you'll see what it looks like in late September. |
| June 8, 2006: Today, after cresting the summit, I took a forest service road back to the resort (the long road). I like to do this to check for wildlife, wildflowers and scenic things to photograph. I also like to check for new mountain biking trails. In this case I was wondering how much water was still in the woods so I'd know if I needed to install the fenders onto my mountain bike before riding into the mountains. I found that most of the creeks are dry and the trails are certainly dry so no fenders are needed. This is bad news for Morgan since she often gets too hot when mountain biking. Note how much of the snow has melted from only three weeks ago. There are lots of little meadows like this in the mountains around the resort. I can just imagine the deer taking advantage of all the new tender shoots of grass. |
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June 12, 2006: Today has been a stormy spring-like day. Thunderstorms and cloud bursts were the lunch-time entertainment. This was spectacular enough but about the time of a major cloud burst the fire-alarm went off in my new office/classroom building driving us into the storm with no coats or umbrellas. That made for a lot of "tree-huggers" until the alarm was silenced. Maintenance didn't know why the alarm was activated but will review the surveillance tapes to learn if it was a student or the electrical storm. On my commute to the resort a look out west saw more of the storm coming toward the mountain. An "S" curve of my mountain commute to the lake is seen in the Oak trees. I'm looking toward the city of Ashland and the Rogue River Valley in the distance. From this point, it will take another 20 minutes to get to the resort. |
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| June 14, 2006: This was the scene as I was traveling back to the resort after work today. The weather had been mostly fair today but a late storm cloud ventured into the valley and headed for the resort. This is Interstate 5 driving south toward Ashland, the resort is to the left and 3,500 feet into the clouds. This is not as spectacular as the mid-west clouds found last year but pretty impressive. Work today was special. I spent about 2 hours traveling in a car with my supervisor. His name is Larry. Larry and I have grown to respect each other and seem to always be thinking on the same wave-length. Today we grew to be more personal with each other. There are many supervisors at the college that I could not trust to be straight forward and honest but Larry is one of those who can be trusted. I am grateful to have Larry as my supervisor, he makes going to work each day easier. |
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| July 30, 2006: Yesterday evening I was sitting at the computer and noticed a yellow/orange color to the late afternoon light. I knew exactly what that meant, smoke in the air. This was very orange so it made me think is was close to camp. Last year I saw a similar site in the northern distance also in late July. Last year the forest fire was about 18 miles distant. Morgan and I decided to go take a look. We drove over the ridge of the Cascades to the west and saw a thick bank of smoke from the other side of Mt. Ashland ... so northern California. I checked the weather satellite photo to see where the smoke is coming from and it is coming from the Orleans Complex fire. This is currently at about 2,000 acres near Orleans California. Click the link above for interesting details of this fire. Click here for a forest service photo of the fire. |
| July 31, 2006: It is cow in the road time again. I know, this is not what you see on a normal suburban commute but this is what greeted me about 5 minutes into my commute this morning. Last year I saw pretty much the same thing about this time of year. So from now on, it is not only watching for deer but for the cows too. |
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August 10, 2006: On the return to the resort today I saw Van in the distance on the Hyatt Prairie Road just 4 miles from the resort. I've seen Van working on his planes under his awning but I've never seen him flying the planes. I had to stop to watch the action. His radio control plane has a .46 engine with controls for flight and fuel. |
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Van prefers to land the plane in the tall grass to give the plane a softer landing.
This seems to take a lot of equipment and space in his RV but is Van's main hobby while on the road. I guess my main hobby is keeping all the electronic things working. |
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| May 5, 2008: The views are ever changing as I drop down off the mountain to the valley below. Click on the photo to see the city of Ashland spread through the valley and up the slopes of the mountains on the far side of the valley. |
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| May 18, 2008: The wildflowers are blooming. The white birds on this side of Howard Prairie Lake are Pelicans. Click to enlarge. |
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