27
May
12

My home for the summer

By Jim Melvin Leave a Comment
Categories: Ochoco Divide Campground, Ochoco National Forest, Oregon, Summer Camp Host and Workamping

I finally made it

I arrived in Prineville, OR on a week ago last Monday.  After stopping for groceries and gasoline I got a call from my area managers Sherrie and Red.  They were doing there wash and wondered if I could meet them there.  I looked up and I was about 100′ from the laundromat.  Small world isn’t it?  While at the laundromat I was able to do my wash as well which had built up for almost 2 weeks.  They took me to lunch, which was really  nice and we discussed the area and the my job duties.

Heading to my home for the summer

After lunch and my clothes washed and dryed we headed up to the campground.  Ochoco Divide Campground is at the summit of Highway 26 at 4,700 feet.  It is a small National Forest campground with pit toilets and trash, but no electric, water or sewer.  It is settled into a nice wooded area with huge Ponderosa Pines everywhere.

My camp host site is very near the entrance and I do have a sewer connection.  They will also be bringing a 325 gallon water tank to take care of my water needs.  I got settled into my site and they would return tomorrow to bring all the necessary supplies to handle my job.  This is a pic of my camp host space prior to getting all my supplies.

Fabulous pine trees means lots of pine needles

There are 200 ft Ponderosa pines everywhere. If you double click on the next pic you will see pine needles covering the road.  My first project was to remove all the pine needles from the road circling the campground.  Of course I had a blower that strapped on my back.

Another pic of the road with the beautiful trees.

This is another view of my rig in it’s home for the summer.

It took a long time before I made this post.  I was trying to get the Internet figured out here.  It can be really sporadic.  Plus the fact that I was working my buns off trying to get the park ready to open.  Normally at this time of the year there is still snow on the ground, but this year the winter was very mild.

16
May
12

Crooked River Ranch

By Jim Melvin 5 Comments
Categories: Crooked River Ranch, Hiking and Oregon

A straight line to Crooked River

Back in 2010 I had stopped at the River Rim RV Park in Crooked River Ranch just north of Redmond.  It is a neat little Passport America campground with full hookups for only $16.60 per night.  They have clean restrooms but no laundry.  The park is located on the rim overlooking the Crooked River.  The canyon created by the river is very deep.

Don’t go near the edge!

They still have the same signs up near the rim of the canyon alerting you to the fact the rim is not stable.  I went out to the edge 2 years ago and again this year so I am figuring this is just a warning that if it caves in and you fall into the canyon that you had plenty of warning to stay away.

The views of the canyon were spectacular as you can see.

I think they have changed owners here but they were very nice.  There are a few permanent residents there as well but most of them are traveling through.  They also have Wi-Fi but I didn’t need that.

I was only going to be here as a last stop before heading into Prineville and meet my managers for my summer hosting job.  Prineville is only about 30 miles away through real pleasant farm roads.

 

 

13
May
12

La Pine State Park

By Jim Melvin 11 Comments
Categories: Hiking, La Pine State Park and Oregon

Heading to La Pine

Drove about 176 miles to my next destination, La Pine State Park.  On the way while driving on Hwy 31 This was my view.  It was really spectacular.  Of course as you get farther north in Oregon everything looks spectacular.  I love the mountains.

Nice State Parks

The Oregon State Parks are very scenic and are immaculate.  The only downfall is that the two I have stayed at (Goose Lake and La Pine) only have 20 amp electric hookups.  La Pine is very large and has 3 different loops where you can camp.  I choose the North Loop.  I had to go around it twice and tried several campsites before I was able to get one that was fairly level.  Fortunately there weren’t many campers there so there were a lot of sites available.

My beautiful campsite

It was a beautiful park and lots of trees everywhere.  This is a pic of my site.

Hiking along the Deschutes River

On my 2nd day here I went for a hike.  It took me down to the Deschutes River.  I hiked for about 1 1/2 miles all along the river and saw lots of beautiful scenery.

If you click on this next pic and then click again you will see the moss growing on the tree branches.

This would definitely be a great place to spend more time as there is a lot to see.  But I am on my way to my camp host job and committed myself to be there on the 14th.  But the next time I am in this area I hope to see more of it.

 

12
May
12

Finally get to Oregon

By Jim Melvin 7 Comments
Categories: Goose Lake State Park, Hiking, La Pine State Park, My Friends and Oregon

On to Oregon

After Bodie, I traveled on to Doyle, CA to pick up my mail, but I was too late and the post office had already closed. I instead travel up the road to a small town called Milford, CA where I stayed at the Honey Lake RV Park for a couple of days. It isn’t the greatest, but not bad for a night or two. They have a grocery store, diner and a bar, but I stayed to myself while there.

My new friends

I drove into Susanville to pick up needed supplies. The day I was leaving I went over to chat with the people next to me. It seems that they are going to the Goose Lake SP the same as me. They were going to be camp hosts there as well into June. What a small world.

Hiking around Goose Lake SP

Then I headed to Goose Lake where I was the only one there until my new friends Bill and Abby showed up. I decided to stay at Goose Lake for two nights only. That afternoon I went on a trail that completely surrounds the park and follows the creek.

This is a view of my campsite taken from the trail. It was under a beautiful maple tree and a couple of Quaking Aspens.

Here is a view of Goose Lake. It is a huge lake, but not very deep.

This is a picture of my new friends Bill and Abby. I really had a great time with them. They invited me over for tacos that night and we had a great conversation. They will be camp hosts here through June and then move to La Pine SP where they will also be camp hosts. Bill is signed up to work at Amazon in Fernley this winter so I will be seeing them there. Thanks Bill and Abby for the GREAT tacos.

In the evening you can see deer everywhere. I probably counted at least 25 and there had to be lots more in the surrounding area.

I had a great time at Goose Lake SP. I met up with my new friends and there was lots to see around the park. Next I will be traveling to La Pine SP, just north of La Pine, OR. Stay tuned.

09
May
12

Side trip to Bodie, CA

By Jim Melvin 8 Comments
Categories: California, Bodie and Walker Burger

No super moon pics

I think I said I would be taking pictures of the super moon.  Well I was having camera problems and it just didn’t work out.  Sorry!  But I have been on the go since I last posted.  I left Mono Lake and was heading up to Doyle, CA to pick up my mail I had sent there.  I got a late start and thought I would have plenty of time but saw a sign for Bodie, CA and couldn’t resist checking this place out.

Side trip to a ghost town

Bodie was an old gold mining town that is now a ghost town.  The only residents there are the camp rangers.  The drive is 13 miles off Hwy 395.  But the last 3 miles are on a washboard gravel road.  Not easily accessible.  The gravel road was 15 mph tops with most of the time only 10mph.  Talk about shake, rattle and roll.

Be sure to pay

I parked in the parking lot and started walking to the pay booth.  The ranger approached me and told me I couldn’t park the MH there but had to park it on the side of the road down further.  Then I had to walk a ways to the pay booth.  I noticed that he was giving out tickets to people that didn’t have their pay stubs on their dash.  He gave me a break and told me that he knew I was in the Lazy Daze and I didn’t need to walk all the way back to put my stub in the window.  Thanks Mr. Ranger.

The town is really neat and most of the buildings are still standing although some of them needed support beams to keep them up.  This is a pic of the town from a distance.

Heading up Main St.

There is a $7 charge to view the town.  You can walk wherever you want and look into many of the buildings.  However some of the buildings have glass covering both doors and windows and it makes it difficult to take pictures.  Especially because the glass is very dirty.

This building like many others needed some additional support.  Considering many of these buildings were built in the mid 1800′s and have seen their share of weather, they are in pretty good shape.

Early form of transporting all the gold and other sundry items.

This is the gold mining operation.

The firehouse with the fire engines.

The old schoolhouse.  It was really neat looking inside because all the desks were still in order.

This is the main street in Bodie.

They did have a rather unique museum with all the interesting stuff found in the town on display.

This is the town saloon.  I bet a lot of crazy stuff occurred here in it’s heyday.

By the time I traveled to and from Bodie I missed getting to the post office in Doyle, CA to pick up my mail.  However it was well worth the time to sidetrack and check out this fantastic old ghost town.  It is a tough ride getting into it on the last 3 miles, but well worth it.

Don’t forget a Walker Burger

On the way to Doyle, I stopped in Walker, CA for gas $4.99/gal (OUCH!) and for lunch at Walker Burger.  I was told by my friends Annie and Rick to stop here for sure.  It is a GREAT place for lunch and has a really neat outside dining area.  The burger was really super.

I spent the night at Honey Lake RV Park.  Not the greatest, but OK for an overnight.

05
May
12

Fantastic clouds over Mono Lake

By Jim Melvin 5 Comments
Categories: BLM Land, Boondocking, California, clouds and Mono Lake

Not only Super Moon but Super Clouds as well…

Gotta watch the SUPER MOON tonight.  It should be really neat.  But I have been here at my campsite overlooking Mono Lake for almost 7 days.  What I find peculiar about this area is the unusual clouds.  I have never seen clouds like that anywhere.  So I have been taking pictures of them and thought I would share them with you.

My first night here was really freaky!

The first night I was here I saw this cloud and it totally freaked me out.  Nothing happened not even a drop of rain and when I awoke the next day it was a bright blue sky with hardly any clouds at all.

Then it got to be old stuff…

During the day time the sky is very blue but towards the evening all the clouds seem to build up and just sit overhead.   This is the cloud I saw on the second day.  Again the next day was a bright blue sky.

I really enjoyed the different cloud patterns.  Like I said I have never seen clouds like this anywhere.

Now lets all check out the super moon…

Well enough for the clouds.  Tonight is the SUPER MOON night.  I am setting up my telescope so I can really view it up close and friendly.  Hopefully it won’t be too windy later on when the moon appears.  I am hoping I can get a few neat shots of the moon in all her glory.

04
May
12

Tufa’s of Mono Lake

By Jim Melvin 14 Comments
Categories: BLM Land, Boondocking, Hiking and Mono Lake

Get your butt out of bed…

Got off my butt this morning and nailed everything down and then drove down to the tufa sighting area.  Tufas are formed over time by the precipitation of carbonate minerals.  I am not a rocket scientist so if you really want to read up on them I suggest going to Wikipedia and they will explain them in depth.

Tufa’s are so cool!!!

All I know is that they really look cool!  Therefore I will just let my photos do the talking.  They are really something to see!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even sand tufa’s

There are even sand Tufa’s.  They are very delicate and almost look like little buildings.

The tufa on the right in this next pic is a home for an osprey.  What a view they must have.

This is another sand tufa that I really liked.

The Forest Service charges $3 to park and follow the trails all among the tufa’s.  Geezers like me only have to pay $1.50.  But it is well worth the small token payment to see these fabulous creations of nature.

03
May
12

Hiking at Mono Lake

By Jim Melvin 5 Comments
Categories: BLM Land, Boondocking, California, Hiking and Mono Lake

Taking a hike

From my campsite overlooking Mono Lake I decided to do some hiking in the area.  Of course I stopped along the way to smell the flowers (actually cactus in bloom).  I am parked about a mile off hwy 395 on a plateau overlooking Mono Lake.  It is a perfect spot.  No highway noise and very little traffic down this narrow paved road.

Whoa Nellie!

I hiked down the road which eventually wanders down to the lake.  It is a rather steep road going down but I felt up to it.  So off I went.

Change in the road

About a 1/2 mile from my campsite I ran into this home right next to the lake.  The road turns sharply and you are then on a gravel road the rest of the trip.

 

I ran into a lot of these cactus flowers all in bloom along the way.  Not sure what they are though.

More then I am up to…

My goal was to hike to the tufas.  However once I got on the gravel road there was a sign that read “Tufas 3 3/4 miles”.  I still continued on as I had plenty of water and the hike didn’t look to bad.  But after about 2 miles I realized this was going to be more difficult then I had anticipated.  The wind was at my back and was blowing quite a bit.  In order to return to my campsite I would have to hike back against the wind and then a steep uphill climb for the last 1/2 mile.  So I decided that if I was to see the tufas it would be better to drive down to them.  I turned around and hiked back (and with much difficulty I might say).

Beautiful clouds

But before I hiked back I got a couple pics of the fabulous cloud formations.

I was pooped and glad I didn’t hike all the way to the tufas.  That will be another day.

I am just amazed at the unusual cloud formations I see here every day.  During the day the sky is very blue, but does have big fluffy clouds here and there.  However in the evening it is a different story.  It is as if all the clouds come over this area and just pile up together.

And finally the biggest and best for the last.

The scenery is like no other place I have ever visited.  I had a big day but it was a great time.

 

01
May
12

From Manzanar to Mono Lake

By Jim Melvin 12 Comments
Categories: BLM Land, Boondocking, California and Mono Lake

A sad time in our history…

Today started off on a sad note but ended on a spooky one.  I know that sounds weird but today was an unusual day.  North of Lone Pine I stopped at the Manzanar War Relocation Center.  This is where 10,000 Americans of Japanese descent were relocated during World War II.  They were removed from their homes and business and with only the clothing they could carry were forced to remain here throughout the war.

 

This is the entrance and a guard shack where they were closely watched so that they couldn’t escape.  The only reason they were isolated here was because they were Japanese.  They had done nothing criminal, but the government thought they might be a problem to our security.

This is the main building where they had dances to try to forget about their situation.

This is one of the guard towers to prevent them from escaping.

There was a 20 minute movie narrated by many of the same people that were encamped here.  It was a real tear jerker.  Years later Ronald Reagan issued an apology to all those who were encamped here and their relatives along with $60,000 per person encamped.  But by that time they had lost some much.  Many of them owned businesses and shops which were taken away from them.

Had to stop at Schat’s

Stopped in Bishop at Schat’s Bakery to pick up a loaf of their famous Sheepherders Bread.  It is to die for!  Thanks Donna and Russ of Travels in Therapy fame for reminding me.

Where to next…

I didn’t really have any particular spot where I would stop for the night except to park somewhere before 4:00pm.  I passed many small towns along 395 and had heard about a dispersed camping spot at Mono Lake so I decided to make that my destination.  Along the way I passed Mammoth Lakes, which brought back a lot of memories of my skiing days and how our ski club used to go up there once a month in the winter.  It sure looks different in the Spring.  Still lots of snow on the peaks but a lot of greenery in the lower elevations.

Dispersed camping overlooking Mono Lake

I found a perfect spot just off 395 south of Lee Vining.  It is a great dispersed camping spot overlooking Mono Lake on one side and a great look of the mountains on the other side.

Mono Lake is twice as salty as the ocean.  Tomorrow I will hike down to check on the tufas.

Here is a great pic of the clouds rolling over my campsite.  More on that later.

Fantastic mountain views

The mountains were really beautiful with lots of snow still covering them.  I am at the 7,000 ft level and there is lots of wind and it is a bit colder there then the Alabama Hills.  But it is still very pleasant.

Beam me up Scotty

I went outside to take some pics before the sun went down and looked up and saw the Starship Enterprise hovering overhead.  At least that is what it looked like.  This pic is facing south and has a bit more light as it was a timed exposure.

This is the scene that really had me spooked out at first.  Yes the Enterprise was landing directly over me.  Beam me up Scotty!  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  I then googled “Mono Lake Clouds” and found out that these clouds are called Lenticular clouds and are common to this area.  But it scared the “you know what” out of me for a while.

I will be spending a couple nights here to see more of the lake, so stay tuned.

30
Apr
12

Alabama Hills – Lone Pine, CA

By Jim Melvin 7 Comments
Categories: Alabama Hills, Boondocking, California, Hiking and Lone Pine Film History Museum

On my way to Alabama… Alabama Hills that is….

Today I drove 132 miles to Lone Pine, CA where I plan to stay for a couple of days in the Alabama Hills.  I stopped at the Inter-Agency Visitors Center going into town to pick up a freebie map of the Alabama Hills and also signed up for a fire permit.  The permit doesn’t cost anything but if you are having any kind of fire outside of your rig (such as my gas barbeque) you are required to have it.

Found a nice spot

Then I drove down the Whitney Portal Road to the Movie Road.  It then turns into a gravel road with many small roads leading to places to camp.  The roads are very narrow so I parked my rig in a good spot and hiked down several of the roads so I could find a good spot.  I did find a great little place back among the rocks.

Camped where they filmed Gunga Din

While relaxing in my new found campsite I overheard 3 people on horses mention that this spot was used in the original Gunga Din movie set.  I saw several people on horseback riding all through this area.  Here are a couple more pics taken around my campsite.

One of the reasons I chose this spot was because it had a beautiful view of the mountains.  I am not sure but I think one of the mountains is My Whitney, which is the highest mountain in the 48 states.  There was still snow on them as well.  What a beautiful sight.

Lost of odd shapes

The Alabama Hills are so unique.  They are oddly shaped rocks everywhere, some very small and others are huge.  This is public land managed by the BLM Bishop Field Office.  There is dispersed camping just about anywhere, although they tell you to use an existing camp and fire-ring.  According to the map there are over 50 movie productions filmed here annually.  Many of the old westerns were filmed here as well.  There is a Museum of Film History located in Lone Pine where you can pick up the exact location of 10 classic movies.  The movie industry adds quite a bit to the economy here in Lone Pine.  I took a hike all through this area the next day and found some really neat areas.

I even found some desert flowers in bloom.

I also found this cave that contained a fire pit.  It looked like it had been used a lot for a fire as the roof of it was all black.

What a funny looking guy!

There was also a rock formation that looked like someones head only with a really crooked nose.  HA!

This is a really beautiful and there were many spots where you could camp and really get away from it all.

Don’t forget the Film History Museum

I stayed here two nights.  I would have liked to stay longer but I have my work commitment in Oregon.  I would definitely recommend this area.  After leaving I went to the Lone Pine Film History Museum in Lone Pine.  It only cost $5 to get in and it was well worth it.  They had posters of many of the movies that were filmed in this area.  This was a display they had where they made the movie Gunga Din.

It was a great weekend even though I couldn’t get cell phone or internet service.  Maybe that was why it was so good!

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