Catch-Up Post #2: My Belated Birthday Trip

Before I take you along on my trip, I want to dedicate this post to my Dad, who passed away unexpectedly on February 15.  He had this giant wall map of the U.S. and would follow along on my travels, marking the places I visited with post-its.  I always traveled and took pictures with him in mind - what he might like to experience and see.  I will continue to take him along with me as I travel and live my life to it's fullest as best as I can.  I love and miss you Dad.

(This post is rather long, being more of a scrapbook of photos of my trip.  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words - and it's the Oregon Coast!, so I will let most of them speak for themselves.  Grab a snack and I hope you enjoy the trip.)

As I left my campground in Washington, and made my way south and then west, I crossed over the Cascade Range just south of Mount Rainier.  I had visited there many years ago, so it was nice to see this majestic mountain again.  I remember when I lived in Seattle, some days it looked like it was just floating there in the sky - kind of like a mountain Brigadoon!  

From Washington, I headed for Astoria and Fort Stevens State Park.  It had been about 23 years since I had been to the Oregon Coast.  I had always wanted to see Astoria, but I was kind of disappointed in that it wasn't what I had pictured or imagined.  It still had some wonderful features, but I had hoped for something totally different.  But I was almost to the ocean so that was all I cared about!  The beach at Fort Stevens was exactly what I had been yearning for and desperately needed. 

First thing I had to do was run down to the water and put my feet in!  I was home. 

The sunset that evening was magical.  I was at the Pacific Ocean!  How could it be otherwise!

The moonrise was pretty spectacular too.

Staying at State Parks along the coast was costly - at least for me, so I didn't get to stay too long at any one.  Plus there was so much to see everywhere!  The next day I left Fort Stevens and made my way south to Newport.  There are so many scenic overlooks along the coast it is hard not to stop at all of them (but I did hit many of them - I just couldn't help it.  Too beautiful).  Of course, one cannot travel the Oregon Coast and not see Cannon Beach.  WOW!  THIS is exactly why I love this coastline - the sea stacks, crashing waves, rocky and sandy beaches all rolled into one.  

I had heard from one of my campers this summer about Beverly Beach State Park and what a lovely park it was to camp at, so I decided to try my luck at getting a campsite. Good thing I travel with Zelda and don't need hook-ups; I was able to fit into a tent site so saved a few bucks. I do highly recommend this campground.  It is right on the beach - easy walk, and has an interpretive visitors center with very helpful volunteers (and free coffee, if you like that stuff).

The day I arrived was gorgeous, and I spent the whole time out walking the beach.  I was having fun discovering what I called "Ocean Art".

At the end of the day, I was gifted yet another perfect sunset.

The next day I headed into Newport.  It had changed a lot since I was last there. 

But I was welcomed in a most wonderful way. . .

Probably one of the funniest things to happen to me on this trip was when I went into one of the shops down along the boardwalk in Newport and found this t-shirt:

AARRRGH!!!  I just couldn't escape the dreaded Sockeye!!!  WHAT are the odds?!  Wish I could have bought the shirt, I really loved it since I'm also a Star Wars fan.  Plus it was just too funny.

I ended up staying an extra night at Beverly Beach State Park since there was so much more to see in the area.  One of the volunteers at the interpretive center told me where I could find a local pod of Gray Whales, so I definitely had to go check that out.  My dream growing up was to be a Marine Biologist.  I studied along that course for a while in college, but then got hooked on Environmental Education, but my first love is still the marine world.  I worked my way north, stopping along the way here and there in route to Cape Foulweather, my Gray Whale destination.  Unfortunately, as the day progressed, the sun was taken over by the mist and fog, and the temperature dropped - though rather appropriate for arriving at a place named "Cape Foulweather".

The view from Cape Foulweather is really interesting.  You will see in the photo below the ring of rocks at the bottom.  These are ring dikes created by lava invading a crack in the earth 15 million years ago.  They are only visible during low tide and are a textbook example of invasive volcanic activity on our planet.  Pretty cool.  Above the ring dikes in the photo (south along coast), you will see a flat green grassed marine terrace and then a rocky outcropping above that, which is the Devil's Punchbowl. This photo is a great example showing the erosion of the softer sedimentary rock in between the hard basalt headlands and offshore rocks.  The perfect mixture of rock types, lots of wave action, and a few million years is what makes the Oregon Coast so beautiful.

Unfortunately, Cape Foulweather is located about 500 ft. up on cliff overlooking the ocean, so my view of the Gray Whales wasn't what I had hoped, but I did see them!  (Can you find the whale in the photo?).  Having studied Humpback Whales in Hawaii, I can still spot and hear the blows and find a whale in a haystack so to speak, which this was kind of like.  Unfortunately I didn't have a zoom lens to get any good photos, but it was still such a joy to see the whales.  

Before leaving Beverly Beach State Park, I had to get some photos of their Octopus Trees.  The camper who suggested this state park told me all about these trees, which is one of the reasons I wanted to camp at this park.  Octopus Trees are a result of early logging practices that left tall stumps behind, called Nurse Stumps, which as they decompose provide water and nutrients for new plants to grow.  Baby Octopus Tress - Western Hemlock and Sitka Spruce trees - will push their roots down through the decomposing nurse stump into the soil.  As the tree grows and ages, the roots grow bark on them and become part of the trunk of the tree.  The nurse stump eventually decomposes completely, leaving behind a large hollow and the strange "arms" that make them Octopus Trees.  Pretty awesome.

Heading south from the Newport area, I stopped at what was one of my favorite scenic view points.  This is looking north toward Heceta Head Lighthouse,

And south towards Florence.

Next destination was Cape Blanco State Park.  I had heard lots of wonderful things about this park and it was also less expensive than others.  The plan was to camp there for a couple of days and make my way back north on day trips to Charleston and Bandon (the state parks there were full and cost more).  Back in the very early 90's I worked at a wonderful place called South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (or South Slough NERR for short - yes, it is a mouthful!) in Charleston, OR.

I had been wanting to go back to visit for years.  It is interesting how some things don't change much, yet other things change so much they are not recognizable.  Well, the visitor center still looked the same from the parking lot, but once I got inside, I saw that it had been remodeled with a large addition, but my buddy the porcupine was still there.  (People used to come in and ask me if that was the "South Sloth" because they didn't know what a slough was or how to pronounce it.)

I went for a hike along the trail I used to teach programs along - back then there was really only 1 trail, now there are several.  Talk about not recognizing anything!  Wow!  Nature can change a lot in 23 years.  When I worked there, the view from the visitor center and along the upper trail through the forest was pretty open and you could actually see all the way down to the slough, but not anymore.  What a difference.  The only thing that was still recognizable to me (though it had changed too) was the boardwalk through the skunk cabbage.  It was always one of my favorite places.

From South Slough, I headed over to Sunset Bay State Park and played in the tide pools, my favorite thing to do on the coast.  I didn't get to time it best with the tides, but it was better than no tidepooling.

From Sunset Bay I headed over to Shore Acres State Park.  (One of the great things about camping at an Oregon State Park, is that your camping pass gets you into all the other state parks for free as a day guest.)  Though Shore Acres is definitely worth the fee to get in.  It is amazing - both the costal view as well as the breathtaking gardens.

I love this photo.  It reminds me of a dragon protecting it's sea cave.

One of the Dahlia gardens.

Rose from the rose garden.

Heading down the coast a short distance, you come to Cape Arago and an enormous colony of various pinnipeds hanging out on Simpson Reef and Shell Island.  I so wished I could have gotten closer to them, because there weren't just California Sea Lions, but Harbor Seals, Northern Elephant Seals (one of my favorites), and Steller Sea Lions.  I could hear the Elephant Seals which made me smile.

Back at Cape Blanco, I took a tour of the lighthouse there.  I highly recommend that too.

The night I came back from Charleston, it was a full moon and I drove out to the point by the lighthouse and ate my dinner, watching the moon rise and the light from the lighthouse cast it's beam across the land and ocean. One of the BEST dinner views I've had!  The pizza I picked up was good too.

The next day I headed back north to Bandon.  Bandon was always one of my favorite places to go when I lived in Charleston.  I used to volunteer at a wildlife rehabilitation center that a man ran out of his home.  We took in abandoned and injured Harbor Seals, sea birds, and even had a baby coyote and 2 tiny fawns once that played together in the yard.  But it was taking care of the Harbor Seals that I loved.  I still remember many of the ones I helped care for.  Bandon had changed a lot too, so I wasn't sure if I could find the man's home again, but I did.  Sadly, he had passed away, but his wife, who was a volunteer when I was there, still ran it, but they were no longer able to care for sea mammals.  It was nice to see that she was carrying on her husband's legacy and such important work.

The beach in Bandon is one of the best along the coast - lots of wonderful and interesting rock formations, including the well-known Face Rock.

Up until now, I had gotten to see (at least at a distance) every creature I had hoped to see, whales, seals and sea lions, pelicans, and other birds, tidepool critters, but I had not gotten to see one of my favorite critters of the Pacific coast - the Banana Slug!  Finally, on my last day at Cape Blanco State Park, I was headed to the showers and there, along the path, was one of my beloved Banana Slugs.  On the way back, I spotted another one.  My visit to Oregon was now complete - as far as wildlife goes.

This one is "He-she"

This one is "She-he"
Slugs are hermaphrodites, meaning they are both male and female.
Would make finding a date a whole lot easier I suppose.

As I headed south I found myself unable to leave the Oregon Coast.  It wasn't time yet.  I dallied and stopped at several more scenic view points.  At one, I was able to easily walk down to the beach where it had some huge waves crashing in.  I wanted to get some good wave shots.  I walked out to where the waves were just coming up onto shore to get my feet wet and started shooting.  Next thing I knew a rogue wave hit and nearly washed me out to sea!  It was all I could do to hold onto my phone and  keep it dry.  I of course I got soaked - and I had just put on fresh, clean clothes a few hours before - Boo!

So back to the car I slogged and continued on my drive - rather uncomfortably.  Soon after, the sun started to come out again and I came to another lovely scenic view point at Myers Creek, so I stopped to stand out in the sun and dry out.

Once I wasn't dripping any longer and was mostly dry, I reluctantly got back into the car to continue my trip south.  I was supposed to get to the Redwoods in Northern California that day, but it wasn't looking like it was going to happen.  Like I said, I was having a very difficult time getting myself to leave the coast, so I ended up splurging and got a campsite at Harris Beach State Park just north of the California border in Brookings.  This was a stop I was meant to make.

Aside from enjoying the jaw-dropping gorgeousness of the place, I met a wonderful French Canadian couple from Quebec.  They took a couple of months each summer to travel in the U.S. in their little Boler trailer, keeping color-coded routes marked for each year in their road atlas.  It was fascinating talking to them and hearing what it was like for them to travel in our "foreign" country and what they liked and didn't like.  We traded ideas and suggestions of places to visit and even modification ideas for Zelda.  Best though, besides spending time with them, was they gave me a can of their homemade maple syrup.  YUM!!

My planned trip actually didn't end at the Oregon border, but was to extend into Northern California to visit and hug the Redwoods.  If you have never been to see the coastal Redwoods, you must make that part of your bucket list.  Photos can't even begin to show you the magnitude of these glorious trees - you can't even fit half of one within the picture.  They must be experienced in person.

The trees behind Grania and Zelda are "small" trees!!

My visit to the Redwoods was the last stop on my Belated Birthday Trip.  It was very sad to have to turn eastward and head away from the Pacific.  I had originally planned to give myself 5 days to make the trip, but ended up spending 7 days in all.  I wish it could have been longer, but I can't complain - it was a spectacular birthday present and one I won't forget.  I like to think of this trip as a survey trip to scope out the places I want to explore in more depth on my next visit - or visits as it will probably have to be - there are too many places I want to go back to.

Thanks for hanging in for the whole trip!  If you ever get a chance to go to any of these places or others along the coast, do it!

Next Catch-Up post will be the eastern Sierras.  After that I should be back to real-time in SW Arizona where I am currently camped.  Oh, and guess what!?  The weather is FINALLY warm here and even getting HOT!  (Insert big smiley face here and Jordan doing the Happy Dance!)

Catch-Up Post #1 - A Day of Exploring Around Lake Wenatchee

I am still alive!  Sorry I've been gone for so long.  It ended up being a crazy fall and early winter with an extended trip back east, but I am back out in Arizona and FINALLY enjoying some lovely weather!  Only took 15 months to get some.  So, let me backtrack a bit and get everyone, including myself, caught up.

As my summer as a camp host ended in early September, I took one last day before leaving to explore the area.  I never got to do that all summer.  One of those cases of "I'll get to it", but then never did.  So, the first thing I wanted to do was hike up to Hidden Lake which was above my campground.  It was a nice hike from the parking lot.  I didn't have time to hike up the old trail from the campground, but was told from many people it was steep and had lots of downed trees to climb over.  I needed quick and easy.  The hike was worth it.  The lake was lovely.

While there, I enjoyed watching dragonflies zoom around me.  They were crafty little buggers, never hovering in one place long enough for me to focus in on them.  But I did manage a couple of decent photos.

Can you find the Dragonfly?

A little "crab" fungus I spotted on a downed tree along the trail.  

After hiking back to the parking lot, I was off to the other side of the lake in search of those darned Sockeye Salmon.  After putting up with the never ending fishing season (which DID by the way close on Labor Day - FINALLY), I felt I needed to treat myself to seeing them "getting it on in their seedy motels and backseats", so I headed to the rivers where their spawning grounds were.  On my way, I took a detour where there was a sign that read "Scenic View".  Hmmm, had to check that out.  Turns out it took me up a mountain at the far end of the lake closest to my campground and boy was it worth it!  From my campground, you could only see a small part of the lake.  At the state park on the opposite end, you could get a better feel for how big the lake was, but still couldn't see the whole span.  From this vantage point it was amazing how big the lake was and the valley it filled.  The lake level at the end of the summer was much lower than it was when I arrived in May.  After all the snow this winter up in the mountains, I wonder what the level will be this May.

Lake Wenatchee
My campground was off to the farthest most right point in this picture

After taking in the view, I headed back down the mountain and up the White River which would be off to the left of this picture, in search of salmon.  Unfortunately, almost the entire way up the road was private property, so there were only a few places I could even see the river let alone park and get out to explore.  The best place I found was where the river cut right up to the road and I found a very small area to pull over.  I didn't realize it until after I'd been there watching and taking pictures that there was a small sign close to the ground that said "Private Property".  Oops.  Well, I was mostly standing on the road and no one came out with a gun to scare me away.  But as you can see below, it was a gorgeous spot and well worth the risk.

The White River

The Pesky Sockeye hanging out in their Seedy Motel.
You can see that they have changed dramatically in appearance.
They have their bright red middles, green heads and tails and those gnarly hooked mouths.

Spawning Salmon
They would hang out in the deeper areas then swim up over the shallow rocks,
sometimes floating the current back down again.  

I read that a female salmon can lay between 1,000 - 17,000 eggs, but with the high mortality rate of salmon throughout their lifecycle, an average of 3 returning to spawn is considered good!  WOW!  

This is a video of the salmon several miles lower down the White River swimming up to the area where I took the previous pictures.  I was about 6-7 feet up above the water on the bank in the shade of trees, yet the fish could see me there.  If I made any movements, they would scatter and swim back downstream.  I was surprised they could see that far, but glad for them that they were so visually aware of their surroundings and potential threats.

The life of these fish is amazing.  While I stood on the bank and watched them in the river, I kept wondering if they knew this was it for them?  Their last Hurrah.  I hoped they had lived life as fully as a fish can live, had many great adventures, and at the end, had one hell of a good time!

I was SO glad I stayed an extra day and went exploring.  It was the highlight of my summer getting to witness this extraordinary event of the Sockeye Salmon.  I will never forget it.



Coming up next . . . My belated birthday present to myself.  

Unexpected Things I've Learned this Summer

Glacier Peak and Mount David (to the left) at the beginning of the summer.

This summer has been quite memorable.  I have learned a lot about things I never considered to learn about.  I thought as an end to my summer adventure, I'd share a few of these "learning experiences".

• Having stood outside from 3:00 a.m. till 8:30 a.m. for almost a week straight, I discovered that it is actually coldest about an hour after sunrise.  You'd think it would start to warm up once the sun came up but it doesn't.  Of course I had to find out if this were actually true and not just me being a wuss.  I looked it up and turns out it's true!  Well, barring any other weather fronts or happenings.

• People define "camping" in very different ways.  Some bring their entire household - INCLUDING the kitchen sink - setting up entire "rooms" in their campsite.  While others bring a tent and a meal that has to be cooked but no pot or stove to cook with.  (Yes, I actually cooked the guys dinner for him).  

• I found that I like to keep a few spiders in the restrooms.  They help keep out the Riffraff insects.

• Unfortunately I found out that you can kill your brand new, very expensive, Lifeline battery in just a couple of months using only about 3 - 5 amp hours a day and recharging once a week (or so I thought I was).  I have re-branded my battery "Flatline".

• Some men would choose to risk flipping over their very expensive pick-up truck backing up their boat trailer than to listen to someone else / a woman? give them suggestions on how to do it easier.  I had a guy who came to fish for the first 4-5 days of Sockeye season and every morning he put his truck up on the hillside, but on the 4th day I swore he was going to flip his truck over when he ran it up about 6 feet onto the hillside!  His back tire was at least 2 1/2 feet off the ground.  He wouldn't listen to me on how to line it up before backing.  I just shook my head and prayed we wouldn't need the emergency crew out there again.

• Feeding bats is great fun!  Stand out in a fairly open area where bats are flying around, turn on your flashlight and point it up and out from you a little bit.  The insects will be attracted to the light and the bats will swoop in and feed.  They will come really close to you too.  VERY FUN!

• In general, most men say they aren't cat people.  I have discovered why - the secret they've been trying to hide for generations.  Men are actually descended from cats.  I know this because cats like to pee just outside the litterbox and in the corners, and so do men & little boys.  I have proof, pretty much every day cleaning the restrooms.  Yep, secrets out guys.  Sorry.  (In all fairness, I know sometimes it could have been women who like to hover and little girls who are afraid they will fall into the toilet if they sit back all the way - but mostly it was the guys).

• Do NOT wear a headlamp when cleaning vault toilets at night.  Just trust me on this one.

Glacier Peak and Mount David just a few days ago.
Quite a dramatic difference!

Well, I am officially done with my job as of this past Wednesday.  Thursday I did my normal first day off routine - showered (so desperately needed, I was 4 days overripe!), laundry, grocery shopping and other errands including 2 new tires for Grania - now she has 4 new "shoes".  I think she is happy.  Now if only I could afford some new shoes for myself!  Friday I cleaned out Zelda and Grania and got all but a few last minute things packed up and ready to go.  I decided to stay an extra day to do some exploring of the area that I never got to do all summer.  So that's what I just finished doing today.  I am SO glad I chose to do this - don't ever let something you really want to do pass you by.  I had a great day hiking and exploring and watching the salmon heading to their seedy motels - and even watched them getting it on too!  ;0)  (Pictures and videos will be posted soon).  I will pull out tomorrow and start my journey to the ocean - just like a young salmon.  What adventures await me there?  Can't wait to find out.  

Sockeye Saga Madness

Ah, I've been trying to get to this post for so long!

The bane of my summer! Sockeye Season.

IT'S NEVER GOING TO END!


Well, let me start at the beginning.

I knew this hosting job would include the dreaded Sockeye fishing season. I was pre-warned. I just had no idea what to expect. Some of it turned out to be not as bad as I feared and some worse. I guess that is pretty typical of any new experience one embarks on. I will say that my stress level leading up to it was beyond healthy. First off, they opened the season early - typically it opens early August, but this year it opened mid July. Fisher people started pouring into the campground the Sunday before and I was PACKED for 3 weeks straight and still mostly packed for another week and a half. Now that is just those who were camping! This doesn't include all the day users coming in with their trucks and boats at all hours of the day and night. Insanely crazy was an understatement.

Unfortunately the kick-off to the season was NOT good. As if my stress level wasn't already maxed out, I returned from my second day off that first week, on the eve of the season opening in the foulest mood ever. I had only been back maybe an hour when I heard someone yelling for help. Everyone stopped to see if it was a real call for help or just someone playing around, but as the yelling got more hysterical we knew. The campers who were camped by my campsite all went running as I grabbed my phone and truck keys. I got over to the campsite where the incident was happening to find that someone had what was most likely a heart attack. One of the campers already had 911 on the phone so I drove to the other end of the campground (where I can sometimes get a cell signal) to try to call my boss to let them know what was happening then drove back to tell the people that I would meet the emergency vehicles up the road and bring them down. By the time the first wave of paramedics and I had returned to the scene, they had the guy on the ground and were giving CPR -the paramedics took over and I went to direct traffic (remember, it is the eve of Sockeye season opening and we have trucks with boats pouring in!). I think we ended up with 4 ambulances, 1 fire emergency truck and 1 big fire truck filling the small area of the campground. They did lifeflight the man out, but unfortunately he didn't survive. Kind of put me in my place as to whining about my stress level. He had been fishing here for years and it was one of his favorite places. I only hope I'm that fortunate when it is my time to go - quickly and in one of my favorite places.

So that was the kick-off to Sockeye season.

Then that night I had to be up and out working at 3 a.m., directing traffic and collecting fees. This went on for the next 5 nights. I tried to enlist the help of others by offering a 3:30 a.m. breakfast potluck, but no one ever came. I just don't understand why not. EVERYONE loves a Potluck! Of course I still had all my daytime campground work to do as well, making my days 12+ hours long sometimes. Not fun. And it was still COLD and windy too. The campground is small and there is very little parking for those camping let alone a bunch of trucks and boat trailers. Like I said before, it was insanely crazy. That first morning reminded me of that scene from "Jaws" just after that little boy went missing and everyone was swarming the marina to get out there to catch the shark! Yep, that was pretty much the scene at my campground and boat launch – just minus the shark.

Boats out fishing the first morning.  This is only a tiny view of the whole 5 mile long lake!

During those early morning hours I had fun with some of the fishermen that came regularly. I told one guy he had a cute boat. Another fisherman heard me and said "Don't tell a man his boat is 'Cute'!". I said "but it IS cute. It's not sleek or speedy or fancy, it's short and squatty and therefore 'cute'!". There were several fishermen that came with the same "cute" boats - they were actually made for river fishing. I also gave them hell for complaining about the wind. How hard could it be? They were using motors, not paddling. Plus THEY got to be out on a gorgeous lake, with a beautiful view all around. Besides it wasn’t like they were really fishing. They didn't even hold their fishing poles! That's not fishing! Besides, the fish deserve a fighting chance too. I have to say that I was initially happy to hear for the fishes' sake that the fishermen often lost more than they caught, but now that the season has gone on forever, I am telling them they need to do better in getting those 37,000 fish caught so the madness will end! 

I was talking to one of my camper fishermen one night before the season opened and he was explaining that Sockeye come back to the lake where they initially started out, and will hang out there for about a month before heading up into the rivers and streams where they will spawn and die. I found this very interesting – that they hung out in a lake first. Of course not having internet where I am, I hadn't been able to check out the lifecycle of Sockeye Salmon. I asked him if it was the Sockeye that had the gnarly mouths and humps; he said the males do once they get up into the rivers to spawn. After he explained all this, I thought for a few moments then said: "Oh, I get it! The lake is like the bar, where all the salmon hang out, the boys checking out the girls, the girls checking out the boys, buying drinks for each other, getting drunk, dancing, and singing bad karaoke. Then the rivers are like the seedy motels and the backseats of cars where they get it on! Then like going home drunk with a stranger, you sometimes wake up and get a good look at what you just slept with!! Aacckkkk! Then you die." - of embarrassment in the human world, or for real in the salmon world. He laughed and said, “Yep, that was pretty much it! You nailed it!” So there you have it folks – Jordan’s Sockeye Salmon mating analogy.

Sockeye Salmon when it enters the lake

Male Sockeye ready to "get it on" up river!

I think it was on the 4th morning of 12 + hour days, that was the coldest morning of all and besides falling asleep standing up, I was so cold I couldn’t hold the pen any longer to write down license plates. When I left the boat launch area to go back to my trailer to get some breakfast, I decided to go sit in my car and turn on the heat and try to get warm. Of course this brought about a slight problem – warming up makes you more tired! I turned the car off and I set my alarm on my phone for 20 minutes so I could try to catch a quick nap. Next thing I know someone is knocking on my window. I bolt awake to find the sheriff standing there – a very young, handsome, hottie sheriff too! It took me a few moments to figure out where I was and what was going on. Turned out he had come out to evict a problem camper I had and was letting me know how that went. I was so embarrassed! I already looked like crap being the end of a long week of work, dirty and probably stinky, then being caught sleeping in my car by the sheriff – probably snoring loudly with my mouth hanging open drooling! And not just any sheriff, but a handsome, young hottie sheriff! Humiliation just follows me everywhere, like bad weather. Think I’d be used to both by now.

I have missed having my furbabies with me, but know that I can’t care for any right now between lack of space and money. As much as I want to get one, I know that wouldn’t be fair to whatever I would take in. I have said that when the time is right, the right critter will find me. Well, I need to learn to be more specific. A little side story to explain. Many years ago while working at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, I went to a class they were offering on using visualization to get what you want. It was very interesting and convincing. I decided to try it out. I lived in a very tiny guest house at the time and needed a small table to sit at. I had the type of table I wanted in mind, but couldn’t find anything like it. One day, after really trying to visualize the table, I was driving by a house having a garage sale and as I went past noticed a table inside that looked very similar to what I wanted, so I stopped. I asked if the table were for sale – it was just what I had been looking for - and the guy said no, but he’d ask his wife. I told him I probably couldn’t pay them what they’d want for it, only $30. He said he’d ask anyway. He came back out and told me she said that was fine, but they couldn’t sell the chairs with it because they used them. I gave him the $30 and took the table, laughing to myself the whole way home – I forgot to visualize the CHAIRS with the table! Just assumed they would come with it. Since then, it has become this joke with me – I always seem to forget to visualize the WHOLE picture – or be specific with what it is that I want. Inevitably, something is always missing or not exactly what I pictured. So it was with the whole pet thing. One day in the middle of Sockeye Madness, a young girl came to my campsite with a box saying that another camper told her to bring it to me. Inside was a seagull with a broken wing. I looked at it and knew I couldn’t do anything with the wing without causing more damage so told her how to care for it until the next day and I would try to find a place that could take it and either rehab it or euthanize it. I made some contacts and eventually found someone who would take it to a vet to be euthanized since the regional rehabber couldn’t take it. Yeah, I know, it’s a gull – a sea rat. But it’s still a living thing and hurting and scared – it deserves to be treated with love and respect in my opinion. The girl returned not too much later saying her dad wouldn’t let her keep in their HUGE motorhome. So I got to keep it in my tiny teardrop that night. Probably better for the gull’s sake anyway. Of course I found myself laughing again - not being amused by the cosmos’s sense of humor in my lack of specifying things again. Will I EVER learn!? Doubt it.

Two Sundays ago we had another emergency out here, though this one had a happy ending thank goodness! A teenage girl had taken her sailboat out that morning and the wind picked up good with some pretty wicked gusts. One of the gusts caught her just right and capsized her boat. She was fine, just wet and very cold from being in this glacial fed lake. One of the emergency crew people who came down happened to be one that was here for the first emergency at the opening of Sockeye Season and had also been one of my regular fishermen those first 2 weeks. The last time I saw him I had told him if I saw him again it better NOT be for another emergency - and here it was, for an emergency. I then asked him if this signaled the end of Sockeye Season since the previous emergency kicked it off, but regrettably, he and another co-worker said no, it was never going to end. I had a feeling they were going to say that. The girl was fine, the salmon, not so much.

After all the insanity of the past 1 ½ months and promises of a salmon, I never did get one to try. Kinda bummed about that. I didn’t need a whole fish, but would have really like to have tried a fresh one on the grill. I was given lots of promises for some, but no one ever delivered on them. Oh well, I like to think the one I would have eaten is still out there in the lake, rather pickled by now from drinking for over a month, still singing really bad karaoke, and getting ready to get it on with the ladies up in the rivers soon! Better he’s out there to spread his seed than in my stomach. I hope that his offspring have great adventures and all return to have a go at it themselves in several years. I’m planning to head up to their “seedy motels” (rivers) to see them doing their thing before I leave. Hope they give me a good show!

This was my "Sad Sockeye" someone left by the boat launch.

For more information about these amazing fish, click here: Sockeye Salmon

As My Summer Turns

Snippets from my summer on a mountain lake.

As stressful as it has been at times, there have also been some memorable and fun times too.

River into town

I've had some long time friends come visit me this summer.  First some friends from Chattanooga came up and camped with me one weekend.  (No, they didn't drive all the way from Chattanooga to see me, I'm not worth THAT long of a trip! - They live in Seattle now).  I hadn't seen them in probably 4 1/2 years?  Their daughter has grown up so much and they all are a blast to hang out with.  Such a fun weekend, I only wish I didn't have to work so I could have spent more time with them catching up.

Another friend I met when I lived in Seattle way back in 1988 also came up to visit.  She stayed at a hotel in town so I got to see what the local accommodations were like.  We had a lovely dinner in town and walked around a little bit, but she really wanted to see the campground where I worked.  So, she followed me all the way out there after dinner and was quite taken (as in taken aback!) with the remoteness and primitiveness of my campground.  Actually it's not THAT primitive or remote, but it does feel like it the first time you visit.  I really enjoyed having her come up to visit & have someone to try out one of the restaurants with!  It was wonderful seeing all of these friends again and I am so grateful that they drove all the way from Seattle to see me (and so I didn't have to drive into Seattle myself!).  I'd love to see the city again, maybe I could drive there at 3 a.m. or take a bus in from the outskirts.  I don't do big city driving.  Scares the crap out of me!

My very first Teardrop Friend made this for me and Zelda!  She built her own amazing teardrop, Celeste, and invited me to stop and meet her and Celeste on my way to meet Zelda 3 years ago!  She is obviously a woman of many, many talents! 

I've also made some new friends here - campers that have come to my campground.  So many interesting people.  I actually met some folks from a town almost next door to the town I grew up in Ohio!  Small world.  As an added bonus to meeting awesome people are the goodies you sometimes score!  One night I was given a piece of someone's birthday cake from one campsite and 2 huge pieces of homemade banana bread from another.  A week later I was given a big bag of Rainier Cherries and more recently some Dungeness Crab legs!  Yes, life is very good, and yummy too!  I have also received some lovely notes and one camper even left me this adorable Cherry dishtowel for my cute teardrop.

Gus, my loyal work buddy, was feeling quite under the weather a while ago.  I was really worried about him - he isn't a spring chicken anymore, pushing 25 years!  Well, let's just say that you could hear us a comin' from far away and he'd cough and hack if I left him idling.  The day I had to drop him off to go to the Car Hospital, I needed ear plugs while riding in him!  I was afraid he wouldn't come back.  Well, 3 days later he came back  - a "new" truck!  He left a decrepit, sickly old truck and returned a tuned up, buff, young hottie of a truck!  Oh Baby!  Let the good times roll!

My Rooftop Garden!  Egon gave me this tomato plant when I stopped back in May.  It was only about 3 inches tall then.  

Now look at it!

I even have some tiny tomatoes!

I had mentioned in a previous post how frustrating it is dealing with some of the campers I get here.  A while ago I came up with an idea to keep those who leave home without their common sense (if they had it to begin with) out of the campground.  If you have seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail (one of my all time favorite movies), you'll remember the scene where they have to answer 3 questions to cross over the Bridge of Death.  Well, I wanted to start the same thing at my campground.  Campers would have to answer 5 questions correctly before being allowed to camp there.  1) What do "Quiet Hours" mean?  2) How big can wood / logs be for a campfire?  3) What is the appropriate way of disposing of your trash?  4) How do you properly extinguish a campfire?  5) Are pets allowed off leash in a public campground?  If they miss even 1 question they are then catapulted to the opposite side of the mountains from where they came (seems easterners and westerners don't think too highly of each other out here).  That ought to teach them they shouldn't be camping without knowing proper camping etiquette.

 

Snow in July on Steven's Pass

Ice is Damn expensive here!  Not using much gas running around, but I'm making up for that cost in ice for my cooler!  It's $2.75 - $3.00 for a 10 lbs. bag.  I've lost track of how many bags I've had to buy already.  At least 2 per week and that is leaving my food in just cold water for a day or 2 sometimes.

Wildlife is sometimes abundant here.  Lots of "killer ground squirrels" (Golden mantled ground squirrels to be be precise) that will kill your food if you leave it out.

I had a gorgeous pair of Western Tanagers that frequented my campsite when I first moved out along with some hummingbirds.  I know at least one of the hummers was a female Rufous Hummingbird, and quite possibly both were.  I often hear Swainson's Thrushes, which are special to me.  When I lived in Oregon years ago I volunteered at an animal rehab facility and got to raise 3 Swainson's Thrushes (Larry, Curly and Moe), so hearing them again has been a treat.  There is at least 1 Bald Eagle and 1 Osprey that fish off the campground.  A couple of my campers watched the Bald Eagle swoop down and pluck a duck off the lake and take it to a tree to eat.  They said they had feather raining down from the feast.  And just the other night I watched probably the same one catch a fish and take it up into the trees to eat.  One calm, quiet morning a few weeks ago, I got to watch the Osprey fishing and be rewarded with a fish breakfast.  Those are the moments I savor and long for more of.

She was in my campsite & really was this close to me!  

There are also several deer that visit the campground on their way to the lake.  They came very close to people and weren't too skittish, but now they have made themselves scarce due to the campground being overrun with all the fisherpeople there for Sockeye season.  I really miss seeing them.

I met another toad friend on my way to the restroom other night.  I keep meeting giant toads, at night, on my way to the toilet - wonder what that means?  I haven't seen a bear or cougar yet - both are my summer wish, but I did see a T-Rex in one of the campsites.  Yep, I sure did!  I had to do a quadruple take in Gus's mirrors, but there it was in site 19!  You never know what you might encounter in the wild.  Not to worry, as much as I wanted to feed a few campers to Ms. T-Rex, I refrained.  Wishing I hadn't now.

One weekend I actually had neighbor campers steal stuff from my campsite!  I had collected these really cool wood pieces from a tree that had to be cut down.  I had them for 2 reasons - 1) they were really neat looking with crystallized sap running through the ring sections and 2) I didn't want anyone trying to burn them in the firepits because of the sap and their size.  Well, the guy decided he should have them because they were too nice to burn!  Some other neighbors had watched him take them and load them into his truck and after I asked around about them, that neighbor went over and confronted the man.  He returned 1 piece, but not all of them until I told him to the next day - which now consisted of 3 pieces because he broke one.  I was stunned at his arrogant disregard for other people's property.

I was getting frustrated one day with how some people left their campsites and was shaking out my rubber glove to put back on (I just turn them inside out and then put back on as I go from one restroom to the other).  This was the response I got.  Rather appropriate for how I was feeling that day.

The wisdom of the Glove!

One thing I have done better with is hard-boiling eggs.  One of my campers gave me another tip to try for "perfectly cooked eggs" - add them to already boiling water.  Well, I can't say they ALWAYS come out perfectly, but I have had the best luck with this suggestion so far.  The one problem I have is the first egg or two I try to carefully drop in the water inevitably crack.  Usually it isn't a big deal, but I did get the coolest mutant egg ever from one batch!  I couldn't have made this if I tried!  LOVED IT!

Mutant Egg Extraordinaire!

Well, I need to get this posted so I can start working on the next post which I have been wanting to get to for so long!  I am so far behind in these posts, but here is something current.  This summer has been very cold to cool so we have been fortunate to not have so many fires as there were last year.  But there is one about 20 miles north of me right now.  Last week was the first time I saw evidence of it.  On Thursday I noticed some reddish-brownish "clouds", then Friday and Saturday it was very hazy with the smoke.  The winds changed direction on Sunday so it has cleared the air around the lake again which is very nice.  Hopefully it will stay that way and the fire will burn out soon.

Smokey haze from fire north of me.

I know there are so many other things I had wanted to share but have forgotten now.  I only have 2 more weeks left then I'll be free to roam again.  First stop is the Pacific Ocean!!!  I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to see it again.  When I got Zelda I promised her a trip down the Pacific coast and this year for my birthday I promised myself as a birthday present.  I can't afford to do the entire trip I wanted to do with campgrounds so expensive and not many boondocking options along the coast, but I'm going to do the Oregon coast into very northern California.  Have a few places already picked out that I plan to stop as well as hitting some of my old stomping grounds.  I hope this will be not only a fun trip but also a healing one for me.  The ocean is my soul's home.


Some parting shots of tree bark.  Yep, you heard me correctly, tree bark.  But just LOOK at these different kinds of tree bark!  They are amazing!

Yeah, I know - doesn't take much to get me excited does it.

Hey, it's been a looong summer!

Truth Uncovered?

It has been a very chilly summer at my campground - mostly because I'm on the south side of the lake and the winds usually come from the Northwest - right off the snow and glacier capped mountains and across the cold lake water and smack right into us.  The winds can get very strong and last all day, keeping things much chillier there than inland a few miles.  I have had recent days where I have been so cold in the early morning that I've had to get in my car with the heat on just to warm up to functioning abilities.  Now, all of a sudden yesterday and today it is like 90 some degrees!  What the Heck!?!?  Where did the mid 70's - low 80's go?  I was VERY specific when addressing the Weather Goddess on what was acceptable warmer temperatures (never even mentioned the word "Hot" in my description).

Some of my friends have asked what I've done to make the Weather Goddess hate me so. Best I can guess is that sometime in a past life I was a virgin sacrifice gone bad. Had hot, lusty sex the night before with all the priests so actually wasn't a virgin when pushed into the volcano's lava spewing cone - so now the Weather Goddess is getting even.