Rain

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Jim Melvin

Lots of rain

I look at the 10 day weather forecast each day and it is now getting to where I seen nothing but rain and/or showers. Fortunately a lot of the rain comes in the middle of the night so we do have some clear days. I went on one of these days to take some pics of the area I am in.

This is a pic of my campsite which is up against the forest.

This has been my home since leaving the campground back in September. I was going to move up to Mt Hood Villages, but decided that Clackamus River RV Park was closer to town and much cheaper. Yes my rig is slightly slanted to the right but that is to allow rain water to run off and not build up around my A/C unit.

Looking down on the campground.

A couple of huge logs that I found.

This is the forest directly above the campground.

Farther up the hill. To the right is the little town of Estacada about 6 miles down the road. To the left about 25 miles is the Lake Harriet Campground where I worked last summer. This is the first time I have stayed in a 31 mile radius for almost the entire year. Welches is only about 30 miles from here.

New weather forecast

I just checked the weather forecast this morning and it only shows rain 2 out of the next 10 days. HOORAY!! It sure is nice seeing the sun again.

Pics of my Summer Home

Posted on June 23, 2015 by Jim Melvin

I am still having problems with the new Photos application on my MAC so I decided to revert to the old IPhotos application. I couldn’t get the new Photos to upload the pics from my camera. Thankfully the old IPhotos has no problem.

Following are some pics of my campsite here at Lake Harriet. The first couple pics shows my view of the Oak Grove Fork of the Clacamas River. I love my backyard.

My chair where I sit every afternoon with Chica is on the right of this next pic. Not too shabby!

I have moved my rig further into the sun from this pic. My panels weren’t getting enough sun to keep the batteries charged.

This is the day use area with the lake in the background. The lake is much larger then it appears in this pic.

Chica is having a ball in the grass with the river running by.

This is Chica’s favorite spot for catching the afternoon sun.

Here is the narrow road that leads to our campground.

Lots of Fish

I am sure getting a lot of fish dinners. One camper gave me this beautiful Rainbow Trout, which I cooked up real nice. It was delicious. Another camper brought me dinner two different times and they were fried trout. Really good!

Timothy Lake

I drive up to Timothy Lake every Wednesday to take a nice long hot shower. They also have washers and dryers that I can use free. I also can use their Internet to check on email. This is the lodge and the duplex at Timothy Lake that the PGE employees can rent for a modest fee.

View of Mt Hood

After finishing up with business at Timothy Lake I took a ride across the dam and part way around the lake. From the Hoodview Day Use area there is a great view of Mt Hood. If you look close you can see a family of ducks enjoying the lake.

Found the Pacific Crest Trail

I kept going further and found the Pacific Crest Trail that stretches for 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada.

Then I crossed back over the dam and got this pic of the lake on one side and the river far down on the other side.

I hope this shows you a bit of what it looks like in my beautiful summer home. I will try to post more often now that I have the pics figured out.

Back on the road

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Jim Melvin

Left Oceanside

I saw my eye doctor for the last time for a while and got my medical for my new job so now I was ready to get out of Dodge. I decided to wait until Sunday Apr 26 to leave. I will be driving up the 5 so wanted to keep traffic to a minimum (HA!!) going thru LA. It was still a rat race and only made it to Castaic where I called it quits. I was tired, the wind was blowing and it was getting late so I pulled into the Valencia Village RV Park for the night.

I got up the next day with hopes of moving on but the wind was really blowing with gusts up to 35 mph. I don’t know about you, but I hate driving in the wind, so I paid for another night. Then I realized there is a Camping World not far away. I had a rear vent cover blow off some where in my travels and was trying to replace the cover. But on a 1992 rig that is just about impossible. I couldn’t find anything on line. Many of the components used on my rig are no longer being made. I headed to Camping World to see what I could do. While there I found out they could replace my rear bathroom vent with a fantastic fan. They had one in stock so I paid for it and scheduled it to be replaced the following day. That meant I would have to stay another day at the park as they couldn’t replace it until 3:00.

Chica was a hit at Camping World

The following day I drove the rig to Camping World and checked in. I asked them if I could bring Chica into the customer waiting room. Camping World is very dog friendly so she came in with me. Immediately she was a big hit. Many of the staff came in to see here. At first she was a bit overwhelmed, but she finally got used to everyone. Sorry but I didn’t think of taking pics.

It took a bit longer then I expected as they were very busy, but finally finished and now I have a really nice rear fan. We headed back to the park and spent our last night there. By the way this is a great park if anyone wants to visit Magic Mountain. It is only a couple of miles away.

Elks Lodges

The next night we stopped at the Visalia Elks Lodge. For $10 I had a great rib dinner and met lots of nice people. Then it was on to the Lodi Elks. I was invited to their Happy Hour and met a lot of fellow RV’ers.

My next stop was the Red Bluff Elks Lodge where I only spent one night. I love the Elks Lodges since they usually have full hookups and only cost $15 – $20 per night. They all have a nice bar and many nights I get a great dinner.

HELP!!

I was going to cross into Oregon and stay at the Ashland Elks Lodge. Forget it! They only offer parking in a parking lot with very little space. I did see a red/white 24′ LD but there was no place to park. I checked Allstays (great APP for locating campgrounds) and there wasn’t much around the Ashland area so it headed north to Medford.

I found the Medford Elks Lodge and parked in front as I couldn’t see any RV’s. They had a sign on the door that said the lodge had been closed down. Not sure what that was all about but I needed a place to stay as it was getting late. I decided to keep heading north and stop at the first RV park I could find. I landed in Rogue River and the first park was full, but they suggested another park next door to them. I really landed a gem. It was $35 per night which is more then I usually like to pay, but she put me right on the Rogue River.

Didn’t want to leave

It is a really clean park with great showers. We walked right out our door and the river was only ten feet away. Chica loved looking at the Canadian geese that lived on the river.

The next morning I got up and paid for another day. I needed to relax a bit as we had been driving every day. The owner suggested going into town for breakfast and that sounded like a good idea. I had a great breakfast at the Cottage Cafe and it was really good.

Chica guards our home

Since we were right on the river we saw many Canadian geese. In the evening they would come out of the water and feed on the grass around our rig. Of course Chica had to let them know who was boss.

Salem, OR

Our last stop before my summer home was an Elks Lodge in Salem, OR. I stayed there for 2 nights to get organized before heading to the campground at Lake Harriet. I called my employer to get last minute info about the next few days and instructions on getting to the campground.

Then it was honey do stuff. I took Chica to PetSmart to get bathed and groomed and have her nails trimmed and I got a haircut. Then I did a some major shopping for groceries.

Off to the campground

Today I am heading out to my new campground at Lake Harriet. I will be passing through a small town called Estacada which will probably be where I will be doing my weekly shopping. I am not sure what kind of cell phone or Internet service I will get at Lake Harriet so here’s hoping with my booster I can get connected.

Shaniko, OR

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Jim Melvin

Lousy crosswind

It was a combination of rain and crosswind that highlighted by venture into the state of Washington. I only had 220 miles to go but right at the start it rained a bit and then the sun came out and jI enjoyed beautiful high clouds. But the crosswind was blowing from my left to the right making for some white knuckle driving.

Shaniko, OR

Someone suggested (sorry but I can’t remember who) on my way to Yakima I stop at the little town of Shaniko, OR. It is right on 97 so decided to check it out. It is a very old town with many really old buildings. It is practically a ghost town but I did see a few people and a couple of businesses still open including the post office. It is a neat little town only consisting of a few blocks. I got out the camera and took some of the following pics.

The old livery stable. Lots of rusty stuff around here.

This is the Old Gold Nugget Saloon. I bet I lot of booze was consumed here at one time. Most of these buildings were closed.

This is the town’s hotel. It is the biggest building in town.

I am not sure what this building was but it sure looked neat.

There were many other buildings on another street along with a museum, but it was late in the day and I still had a ways to go to my destination.

It is a neat little town out in the middle of nowhere. I would like to spend more time here whenever I get up this way again.

Rainy day in Bend, OR

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Jim Melvin

Weather

The weather had been great up until the day I left the casino. It didn’t really rain but sprinkled all the way to Bend, OR. While in Bend I stopped at the Walmart to fill my prescriptions for the next 3 months and picked up some groceries.

I plan on spending 2 nights at the Bend Elks Lodge where they have electricity for $15 per night. Time to get everything charged up. I usually charge up IPhone, IPod, my computer, and my Bose speaker system. That just leaves my Kindle Fire, toothbrush and battery charger which recharges my rechargeable AA, AAA, and D batteries. I take advantage of electricity now as I will only have solar power when I reach Panorama Point (where I will be camphosting for the summer) and then I will have to juggle things to keep them charged.

Bend Elks Lodge

I signed up for two nights and got one of the 8 sites available with electricity. There were three other campers when I arrived but one of them left this morning. It has been very overcast and rained off and on during the day. Chica and I went for a walk but she got a burr in here foot. I helped her get it out and she is OK. This is a view of our spot at the Elks Lodge taken with my IPhone. It was just before it started really pouring.

Elks Lodge Membership

Becoming a member of the Elks had to be one of the best things I have done since starting to fulltime. Many of the Elks Lodges have low cost RV camping facilities and most of them have electricity, water and dump. They do not accept reservations but most have sites available when you pull in. After my experience trying to camp at a National Forest Service campground that was not yet open I made a change of plans and decided to stick with available Elks Lodges along my route.

My next stop will be the Elks Lodge in Yakima, WA where I will spend another 2 nights. Elks Lodges are a very convenient place to stay during off season camping while traveling. Plus they also have full bars and very reasonable dinners as well. Not too shabby!!!

The Good, Bad and Ugly

Posted on May 2, 2014 by Jim Melvin

The Good – Ramhorn Springs BLM

I headed north from Mono Lake over a pass at 8,100 feet. I use both the Allstays and the Ultimate Campgrounds Apps on my IPhone to determine where I can stay overnight. They are both very handy and you can use filters to determine what type of campground you prefer. I decided on the Ramhorn Springs BLM campground about 45 miles north of Susanville, CA. It was a bit further then I like to drive at 271 miles. I normally like to travel only 200 miles per day.

When I arrived there were 2 truck campers pulling ATV’s. Chica and I got settled in and prepared dinner and then went over to talk with my fellow campers at their campfire. They had been coming here for several years and told me about the area. It is always neat when you can find others who will share their knowledge of the area with you. One of them suggested that I unhook the car and check out a few of the spots they mentioned. I was thinking of doing that, but the Internet was so poor and I was out of phone range. So I decided to move on.

Here are a couple of pics of the campgrounds. It was very cool and well maintained. The first pic shows the road leading into the park. It is right off 395 about 3 miles on this road to the park entrance.

The next few pics show are campsite within the park.

The Bad – What you don’t want to see when towing

Since I had driven 666 miles (that should have been a hint that something was going to go bad) in the last 3 days I decided that a short drive further north would be a great idea. I looked up a NFS campground 22 miles north-west of Altura, CA. It would be a short relaxing drive of about 80 miles. Great! We were headed to Howard’s Gulch CG. Just prior to turning into the campground road the 2 lane road started a passing lane. NICE!!! I had to turn left so was in the passing lane. My trusty GPS told me where to turn and left I went only to find the RV’er with a toad’s worse nightmare – ROAD CLOSED. I was already committed and had no choice but to turn left.

I got out and surveyed the situation and determined that I had to unhook my car, turn the rig around and then rehook up my car all within about 50 feet. The problem was that I was on an incline and when I tried to unhook the car I couldn’t get it off the ball hitch because of the incline. After starting my car and putting it into gear and using my handbrake to stop I was able to get it to a point where It would come off the ball hitch. Then I had to maneuver both rig and car in a small space facing the opposite direction, hookup the car and then I would be on my way.

By the way, when I checked the campground it said it opened in May. Today was May 1. DUH!!! I guess it was too early to open. Oh well!

The Ugly – Wheel well cover flapping in the breeze

By this time I determined that any campground that said it opened in May probably meant May 15 or later. My friend John had mentioned a casino in Klamath Falls, OR that allowed RV’ers to spend the night. So that was my goal. I put it into my GPS and off we went. On the way a large truck came flying by going the opposite direction and my wheel well cover came detached and was flapping in the breeze. I pulled over and tightened it the best I could but it was not good enough as it happened again once another truck went by. I did this about four times and then decided I was going to get it fixed temporarily until I got to my campground in Washington where that would be added to my list of things to do. So I got out the one thing I knew could do the job properly – good ole DUCK TAPE. I taped it up and the flapping came to a halt and I drove to Klamath Falls.

Once I got in Klamath Falls I thought it would be only a short drive to the casino. OH NO!! It was 24 miles north of town. YIKES! I usually check my GPS to see the total miles I have to travel to my destination, but this time I didn’t. DUH!!

It is now 5:30 and Chica is getting antsy (although she cooperated) as well as myself. We finally arrived at the Kla Mo Ya Casino about 6:00 and I immediately pulled into a nice shady spot.

The Internet here is great and the weather very nice, so I don’t plan on leaving here for 2 days. Unless they kick me out. HA!

Banff, AB Canada

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Lots of wet weather

We headed off in the morning to Banff. It turned out to be a wet overcast day the entire trip. Fortunately we only had to drive 68 miles. Unfortunately we were unable to see many of the mountains surrounding Banff. We stopped on the way in Canmore, AB. We found some RV parking and decided to get out and check out the town.

I passed this guy who was very frigid but found a different method to stay warm. Not sure I would try this myself. HA!

We had a fabulous lunch at Mountain Mercata and got out of the rain. Afterwards we walked around the town some more and I was able to get these pics. It was cold and wet!

Then we were off to Banff. We are staying at the Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court which is a huge park just on the outskirts of Banff. It rained like crazy when we arrived but soon after it stopped and I was able to take these pics.

I got a close up of the same mountain with my telephoto lens.

Weather is getting colder

The weather here in Banff is colder so I got out the electric heater and the Wave 3 is on low so the rig stays very comfortable for both myself and Chica. When I take her out I make sure she has her coat on. Although it is a battle to get her to wear it, I am sure she is much warmer then without it. We are going into Banff ans spending time just sightseeing.

Start of the Canada Trip

Posted on May 26, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Good bye Baker City, OR hello Winchester, ID

We started our trip into Canada at Baker City, OR. We went through Hell’s Canyon on the Salmon River. What a site! Sorry but I don’t have any pics as my co-pilot (Chica) was too busy sleeping. It is a place I would love to return to some day.

One of two stops before crossing the border was Winchester Lake State Park. It is a beautiful spot and would be a great spot in the summer months where you could enjoy the lake. Day 1 – 268 total miles.

I got confused and went down a frontage road used by the park crew. There was no place to turn both my rig and the toad so it was the first spot I had to disconnect in order to turn my rig around. Fortunately I have got the process of connecting and disconnecting down so it didn’t take me long at all.

This is a pic of my campsite and a another of several LD’s in their sites.

Chica was cold

It was cold out so Chica wore her stylish leather coat. It helps to keep her warm and she does not object too much when I put it on her.

We took a walk down to the lake and Chica even went out on the dock. However she does not want to go near the water. I can’t really blame her as it was very cold.

Second Day – Farragut State Park, ID

Our second day we drove to Farragut State Park just south of Sandpointe, ID. This was a huge state park with lots of loops and campsites. Most of us were able to park in the same loop. Day 2 – 179 total miles.

Once I knew I was going on this trip I made reservations for the Idaho State Parks since we were going to be arriving there on Memorial Day weekend. It is a good thing as both parks were filling up. At Farragut State Park there were a lot of families pulling in with all the kids bikes and toys. Canada celebrates their Memorial Day at a different time so we did not have a problem with reservations at any of the Canadian parks.

I only got one pic of my campsite at Farragut.

Crossing into Canada

On Saturday we crossed into Canada. During our meeting at Baker City we had all discussed what we could and couldn’t bring across the border. I was a bit worried that I had too much wine since John, Linda and I had bought wine at all the wineries on the way to the rally. We were going to split up our wine with some others who were not carrying any, but decided at the last minute that we would just chance it.

The line at the border was very short. I was right behind John and Linda. I was asked if I had any liquor and I did tell her I had 4 bottles of wine. She did not even ask me about Chica (who was sound asleep on my lap), but I had her papers to show just in case. The crossing was very easy and took less the five minutes. The customs people were very friendly.

Just after crossing the border we decided to stop and take a break and let the dogs out. We were now in British Columbia.

I bought Chica a new coat at the Petco in Lewiston, ID. She really doesn’t like it since you have to put her legs through it, but I’m sure she will get used to it eventually.

Crowsnest Pass RV Park

After crossing we drove to Crowsnest Pass outside of Bellevue, Alberta. Most of the time we were in British Columbia until we hit the Alberta border. The Rocky Mountains up here are spectacular and there is no way to describe it. I will get many photos of it before we leave so our first priority was getting to our campsite as it was a very long day. Day 3 – 255 total miles.

The GPS had us driving through the center of Coleman which is right next to Bellevue. We finally found it and got settled in.

Happy Birthday Nikki!!

It just happened to be Nikki’s birthday so we celebrated with a cake and ice cream. It was the first time we all got together as a group on the road and it was a lot of fun.

That is Nikki in the middle cutting the cake.

We will be here at the Crowsnest Pass RV Park for two nights so we plan on seeing some of the sites and museums in the area. This area is know for coal mining and includes some natural as well as man-made disasters. It should be a fun day.

Northwest Lazy Daze GTG

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Baker City, OR

We made it to the small town of Baker City, OR for the Northwest Lazy Daze GTG. It was great fun and I met a lot of new friends there as well as seeing some old friends as well. The weather when we arrived was windy but the second day day was great.

Here is a pic of an entire row of LD’s that were parked at the Mt. View RV Park. It was really cool seeing so many LD’s all lined up.

Meetings and potlucks

We had our meetings and potlucks here. The group also supplied breakfast. What a deal!

Here is their General Store/Office.

Some of us were working

John received a new turret for his satellite TV. I helped him replace it as he has done so many things for me over the years. We got it all hooked up and he fired it up and it still would not work correctly. What a bummer!!! They are going to send him a new unit once he gets home to Colorado.

Learning Genealogy

Donna was teaching the fine points of genealogy. I have done some work on archives.com but was not very good at it. She gave all her students a packet with lots of great ideas on how to create your family tree.

There was also a GTG with Pete Reed for all those that were going on the Canada trip. We all went through our Itinerary together and everyone had a lot of questions. We are all very excited for the trip to begin.

Oregon Trail Interpretive Center

A few of us went up to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center outside of Baker City. It was a very fascinating place and very informative. Here are a couple of pics from the center.

Thank you Northwest Lazy Daze

I want to thank everyone in the Northwest Lazy Daze group. I had a wonderful time and met many new faces as well as some I had met previously. It was a great time. I apologize for posting this so late, but the Internet service since then has been really lousy.

Camp Hosting

Posted on September 29, 2012 by Jim Melvin

4 1/2 MONTHS – You’ve got to be kidding!

I have been camp host here at Ochoco Divide National Campground in Central Oregon since May 15, It has been a rather long time, but it has been very enjoyable nonetheless. For those of you thinking of workkamping I offer the following suggestions.

Know what your getting into – Find out what is expected prior to getting there and what you will earn as well or what you are entitled to if you volunteer.
Get everything in writing. Usually emails between you and your new employer.
Make sure your rig is properly equipped for the area. If there are no hookups make sure you have solar panels or a generator, Sometimes the employer will supply you with a generator to use. What about a dump station and fresh water? What about Internet access or cell phone service?
Learn about the local area. Where are the local markets, gas stations, Walmart (if there is one nearby).

60 miles roundtrip…

When I discussed my position with my employer before taking the job he emphasized that the nearest town was 30 miles away. That meant 60 miles round trip just to get groceries and propane. I usually made the trip once a week not necessarily for the supplies but just as a change of pace. I found a great BBQ place where I would treat myself to a dinner to go that I would enjoy once I returned to camp.

Great fun meeting new people

I think the biggest enjoyment I got out of this past summer was meeting such a variety of people. My campground is not a destination campground where campers would stay for a week and most of the campers would only stay one night and then move on. Some weren’t even in RV’s. Many drove in here on bicycles, motorcycles, cars and trucks as well as RV’s of all sizes and shapes. I had a lot of tent campers. Some even walked in.

Or pedaled in.

Just because they were only there overnight didn’t make a difference as to meeting them. Everyone is usually happy to tell you where they are going or where they have been. I made a lot of friendships during the summer and many people told me of really neat places they had been. Of course the cyclists usually had different stories to tell, but they still shared fantastic places they had seen in their travels. It was especially interesting to meet people from other countries and get their opinion of travel in the US. I met people from Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, England, Australia, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and a lot from Canada. They all loved traveling in the US.

Another vehicle would help…

Since I don’t have a toad I wasn’t able to get to many of the nearby places I would have liked to, however I am working to save for one and hope by this time next year I will have a vehicle. If that is the case I may just come back here next summer, but not sure yet. My employer has already asked me if I would return.

Go with the flow…

I would also highly recommend to anyone taking a camp host position to be flexible. You do not always have to go by the book in some cases. But the most important asset is to BE FRIENDLY and don’t be shy. People look up to you as the boss of the camp but you don’t have to act like one. That will go a long way to make your camp host season a successful one.

I was the only camp host in my campground and it can be difficult taking time off since there is no one there to fill in for you. I just took almost every Tuesday off and it worked out pretty good. It gave me a day to myself to do what I wanted to do. When I returned, I would still make my rounds, but it always felt like a day off. My employer said I could take two consecutive days off and one of the other camp hosts would fill in for you, but I never did that. Next year if I have a toad and decide to return I will definitely take the two days off and venture out to the surrounding area.