Capitol Reef N P

Located at 5530’ elevation in old fruit orchards, Fruita Campground is one of the loveliest spots imaginable.  It’s surrounded by sheer red rock cliffs on 3 sides, sage brush covered hills on the 4^th.  Deer wander through camp and graze on fallen fruit.  As anticipated, there was no cell phone service or wifi; how did we survive without it for 3 nights?

The view from our patio

 

The Castle

 

The Goosenecks, looking straight down at the Fremont River, the

modest little stream that carved a masterpiece.

 The area was farmed from 1880 through 1962.  The orchards still produce apples, pears, peaches and cherries.  Trish sliced and cooked up some of the apples with cinnamon and brown sugar, a delicious side dish to accompany the pork chops I cooked over a wood fire a couple nights back.

 

Magnificent colors abound

 

Abstract art by Mother, mineral water on sandstone.
 

 

Hickman Bridge spans 133’.
It's a little difficult to see; double tap to enlarge.

 The Reef, aka Waterpocket Fold, was formed 65 million years ago, give or take a few days.  Since then, erosion has exposed multicolored rock layers and carved numerous sundry formations.  The Fold is a 90-mile long ridge with smaller, parallel ridges here and there, and valleys in between.  The scope is so vast that you have to be in a plane high above the area to grasp the layout.  Trish said while we were on the Scenic Drive that it was like driving on the floor of the Grand Canyon, which is a good description although the GC is a much deeper cut.

 

Fern’s Nipple in center distance

Those Portland women would have surely renamed it had they been around.  
Let's see: how about Pimple Point?  Beanie Butte?  Conical Crest?

Bagging Idaho

Our plans to spend 10 days in Idaho were dashed by wild fires.  The 2 fires in south central Idaho were generating too much smoke for us to handle.  So we bagged it, both the Owyhee scenic drive and Ketchum.  Northern CA also has wild fires so that wasn't a viable option.  Northern Nevada doesn't have much going for it unless you're big on bleak, barren and boring.

That leaves Utah and that's where we are, Willard Bay SP near Ogden.  Willard Bay is part of the Great Salt Lake; I took a couple pix but opted not to publish them cuz the lake just isn't much to look at.  Today, we'll continue south and a bit east, destination Capitol Reef NP.  It's one of the few southwest national parks I've not visited so I have great expectations.  Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is just south of Capitol Reef so we'll see some of that when we continue south.

These two federal preserves are all about mountains and rocks.  There are lots of spires, arches, wild and crazy formations of all kinds.  I doubt we'll have commo at Capitol Reef so will be suffering severe email, scrabble and blogging withdrawal symptoms by the end of our 4-5 day stay.  In fact, my left eye is already starting to twitch.

Flies

Flies piss me off.  Always have.  Had beaucoup flies on the farm in MN.  That was a given, what with pigs, sheep, cows, chickens - and in the early days - horses, producing copious quantities of fly habitat.  I used to wipe 'em out by the 1000s back then: sprayer, swatter, fly ribbon, anything that worked.  The spray was DDT; now I'm bald, have CRS and can't throw lawn darts worth a darn.

We carry 2 flyswatters in the RV and one of  'em is right beside me as I type this, sitting outside in the shade.  Many flies will die here in the next 36 hours.  Sure, they can reproduce much faster than I can kill 'em but whacking them into oblivion gives me a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment nonetheless - especially if they're on my person or inside the RV.

Hat Rock Campground near Hermiston, OR is the scene of the fly slaughter.  Somewhere nearby there's livestock or rotting fruit or people with poor sanitation habits.  Could be all the above, rotten fruity people who never bathe and have goats.  Flies are attracted to stinky stuff.  I showered last night so don't know why they're landing on me; my deodorant?  They're not bugging Trish that much although she's the perennial Daily Special on the mosquito menu.

We'll spend 2 nights here, play golf and tour the area.  Hat Rock was named by Clark, of Lewis and Clark.  They did a lot of naming.  Closer to Portland, there's a large columnar rock, which L&C dubbed Cock Rock because it resembles a stiff dick.  Years later, a group of Portland women - influential, puritanistic, busy bodies with not enough to do - were successful in changing the name to Rooster Rock. 

 

Hat Rock

To this day, Portlanders (darn few) thank those ladies for saving the city from the sin and evil and corruption that would inevitably result from having such a lewd reminder of human anatomy in the vicinity.  Had I been around at the time, I would have led a protest movement, kicked it off by draping sail cloth over the rock, in the form of a condom.  You know, if that rock were in Africa, people would worship it as a great symbol of fertility.  Those ladies remind me of John Ashcroft, the attorney general that covered the Spirit of Justice statute.  What a screaming asshole!

Woodland, WA

Woodland, WA is across the Columbia River from Columbia City, OR where I lived for 10 years.  We can see my home (It's for sale; make me an offer I can't refuse) from our campsite, which is in an upscale private RV park.  I often wondered what this park was like when I lived in CC and viewed it from across the river.  It always seemed to be pretty full up - and justifiably so: great setting, clean, well maintained, and convenient to I-5.

Shuffleboard, horseshoes, lots of grass.

We stopped here primarily because we (the royal we) had to do laundry.  This park has its own laundry facilities, as do many of the larger private parks.  This is the type of place that attracts the big rigs, mostly driven by full timers who spend their time inside and don't mind having neighbors 10' away on both sides.  We do mind: we like privacy and campfires, rarely stay at places like this.   Get a load of the rig below, custom all the way, including a garage to haul their classic car.  When the car's outside, the garage can be used as patio, office, party room, etc.

Columbia City in background.

Many salmon are caught angling from shore.  I never tried it but spent many -mostly fruitless- hours fishing from my boat. 

Zoomed in at 10X, my house is upper right, some 3 miles away.

Inbound car carrier ship.  Being able to view ships and other river traffic was one of the main reasons I built a home here.  The smoke across the river is coming from the Dyno Nobel fertilizer plant; Patty, my ex, worked there for a few years. 

Schafer SP

Schafer State Park is near Elma, WA which isn't near much of anything.  To find it on the map, start in Olympia, run your finger northwest until you get to Shelton, then west about 20 miles and there you are.  The park is on the Satsop River.  The Satsop isn't impressive but yields many a trout, steelhead and salmon.

We're been here 3 days visiting friends and playing in the 21st annual LLCCILDT*.  We were unable to attend the event last year cuz we were touring the east coast.  Trish and I have our names engraved on the championship trophy, being prior gold medalists.  This year we intended to reestablish our reputation as Olympic-class athletes and odds-on gold medal contenders.  Intended is the operative word.  Read on.

About 50 people were in attendance.  Half of them played; all cheered and jeered, stuffed their faces (potluck), and drank beer or whatever.  Trish and her partner lost their first match, but it was a squeaker: 21/20.  My partner and I also lost our first match but it was a rout, not a squeaker at 21/6.  I was terrible, my partner not much better.  My partner and I then went on to 'compete' for the booby prize and won it handily by loosing again.  I've never played so poorly, didn't get a single ringer.  Major embarrassment, my reputation as a top notch spearchucker all shot to hell.  

This is our northernmost point of travel for the summer.  Today, we start a southeasterly course that will include stops in southern WA, northeastern OR and southern ID.
 
*Lost Lake Country Club Invitational Lawn Dart Tournament. 

She's Baaaack!

"Of all the RV parks, in all the towns, in all the world, she drives into ours."*

In my post of July 29th, I mentioned the woman with lots of dogs that was parked beside us at the Roseburg, OR fairgrounds.  Yesterday at 3:15 pm she pulled into our 7-space county rv park in Scappoose, OR and parked right beside us.  Again.  We are so thrilled, you just can't imagine!

Her pickup has a 16-dog capacity; how many she actually has we don't know.  Lots.  In Roseburg, she had at least 6, all of which appeared to be black labs.  Trish talked to her briefly, found out she trains and/or buys and sells the dogs.  She keeps the dogs fairly quiet although they do go off on a barking binge occasionally.  We're leaving here today so we'll survive regardless. 

Cruddy picture, too far away and too dark, but you get the idea.  There are 8 cages on each side with a storage area top center.

I gotta say that I'm not impressed with the situation: several large dogs living cooped up in metal boxes too small for them to even stand up.  How long does she haul them around like that?  A brief period, hopefully.  What a great life.  If I were one of those dogs, I'd be seeking an opportunity to bite her in the butt.  BIG bite!  Once started, I'm sure I'd find it difficult to stop - as would my fellow canine prisoners.

Are we traveling in some kind of time warp or parallel universe?  This is the 2nd deja vu all over again event of this trip involving RVs that reappear in campgrounds 100s of miles away from the initial sighting.  The Geese came first and it was a treat to see the rig 4 different times; twice for the dog lady is twice too many.

*In case the (mis)quote isn't familiar, it's Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca.  Great old classic movie.

Score!

We're in a small community campground near Scappoose, OR, same place we stayed 2 summers back.  It's got full hookups for a good price and we reserved well in advance so we have the premier site, with no other rigs beyond us on one side.  You step out the front door and you've got privacy, trees and grass.

Vintage 1928 with wooden prop and bike wheels.

This is a 1957 Chevy.  Trish knows the model years of many of the 50s era classics.

I do well to pick the correct decade.

I thought that this cute little thing was either a Crosley or a Henry J.

Trish says it's a Nash Metropolitan.  She's right; I'm wrong.

An event we were unaware of until arriving took place at the regional airport adjacent to us over the weekend: an antique airplane fly-in/classic car show/model railroad show with a few military and fire/police rigs thrown in for good measure.  It wasn't a humongously large collection of goodies but there was some really neat stuff, as the pictures indicate.

This is a lightweight but well-armed military rig.  It would be great for some urban applications and maybe chasing terrorists in the dessert.  Wouldn't want to get into a pissing match with a tank, though.  It's wide open and unarmored.

This had no sign that provided the age.  Sleek little puppy.

This pair isn't very old, built in the 80s and 90s.  They have identical paint jobs, are likely one of the pairs we saw flying in formation, lead and wing man.

FBs

A few posts back I said I'd find out why Farewell Bend Campground was thusly named.  I researched the matter, and here's what I found: nothing.

I did stumble on something interesting, though.  Bend, OR used to be called Farewell Bend, named after a nearby ranch with the same handle.  Bend is on the Deschutes River, while Farewell Bend Campground is on the Rogue and about 100 miles away.  And, guess what: there's a city park in Bend called Farewell Bend Park. 

Let's not forget Farewell Bend State Park near Baker, OR.  It's quite a ways north and east of the other FBs, on the OR/ID border, and the Snake River.

There you have it: 1 ranch, 1 town, 1 campground and 2 parks - FBs all, on 3 separate rivers many miles apart and all in the same state.  Oregon apparently has exclusive rights to the name, didn't find any FBs in other states in my brief google search.

Now you know.  Go forth and impress your family and friends with your new found knowledge.  They'll probably think you're a half bubble off center for expounding on FBs, but odds are, they've been thinking that for some time anyway.

Today, we leave McMinnville and head to Scappoose for a few days. 

Buttpains 5 & 6

Why report these ho-hum events?  Who cares?  Nobody, I reckon.  It's like this: I feel like writing but the place (McMinnville, OR) was covered in prior posts.  Besides, I don't want readers to think our summer travels are all rainbows and unicorns. 

Number 5
The RV Microwave went belly up.  It's a small one, only 1.0 CF, but plenty big enough for 2 people and a real convenience since our rig doesn't have a conventional oven.  I'm guessing all the bouncing around shortened its life.  And, we've bounced around a fair bit, especially on the Alaska trip a couple years back.  The old one was Brand X (High Pointe), never heard of it.

The microwave lives in an enclosed cabinet, is front-vented (a rare thing in smaller units) and has a frame which is screwed to the machine and the cabinet face.  The frame is what keeps the appliance in place so it doesn't bounce right out of the cabinet and fall on the floor, and it provides a built-in appearance. 

Good luck finding a front vented 1 CF microwave online.  Tried all the usual suspects: Lowes, Home Depot, Nextag, Walmart, Amazon - nada.  Finally bought a 0.9 CF unit for $58 at Home Depot; it's not front vented but the size and appearance are nearly identical to the old one.  To address the venting concern, I cut a hole in the top of the cabinet directly above the vent holes in the top of the appliance.  Hopefully, that will prevent overheating and other issues.  If not, I'll jump off that bridge when I get to it.

Number 6
Most RVs have outdoor showers.  They're rarely used for showering but are handy for mud room applications and dog washing.  Whilst Ranger was 'enjoying' a bath recently, the nozzle head broke off.  Called Camping World: they don't carry replacement hoses, just the entire assembly: knobs, base, valve, the whole enchilada.  In your dreams, CW, you suck as usual.  I'll be going to ACE to get the replacement hose, thank you very much.

On the bright side, given our considerably less ambitious itinerary this summer, dealing with these little challenges hasn't been all that bad.

What the .....?

It’s 8:10 PM and we’re sitting around the campfire.  Trish just spitted up her last marshmallow of the evening, has it poised to place over the coals in just the right spot.  We notice an older pickup approaching on the single lane, one way road.  We see the head of a large dog of indeterminate breed sticking out of the half open, passenger side window and hear music coming from the truck’s radio.
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The pickup slows down and stops in the middle of the road, right beside our trailer.  I’m thinking great place to park, you idiot, assuming that he came to visit the campers across the road from us.  A 50ish guy emerges, opens the tailgate, grabs something from inside the pickup bed and strides toward us.  Ranger barks and runs over to the man, who responds with a cheerful, “Hi poodle!”
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He tosses a double handful of wood scraps by our campfire, with this comment: “Kiln dried cypress!  Lots better than those ponderosa pine branches you’re burning.  No smoke.  A friend of mine has a cabinet shop, has all kinds of scrap wood.”  He then returns to his truck and drives away.  Trish and I look at each other and burst out laughing.  We’re both flabbergasted.  We stop laughing after a bit but resume again shortly.  

Kiln Dried Cypress! (lower right)

The guy didn’t stop to bestow wood scraps on any other campers, at least not on our side of the campground, and he's not a resident of this campground.  What inspired this little gift?  Was it just a random act of kindness?  We’ll never know - unless the guy returns tonight for a repeat performance.  Anyway, the visitation of The Kiln Dried Cypress Phantom certainly livened up our evening and provided us with a great little story to pass along.  Trish thinks the guy had been hitting the sauce pretty heavy.  Could be.

PS: 2 days later.  As we were breaking camp this AM, the Phantom drove by again but didn't stop or drop off any more wood.  Maybe this guy has some duties as non-resident camp host or something.

Sisters, OR

We’re 4 miles from Sisters in Cold Springs FS Campground.  The flora is primarily 2^nd growth ponderosa pine with some grass here and there, interspersed with sage brush.  It’s naturally park-like, ½ dappled shade, ½ sunny, very pleasant setting.   It’s really inexpensive with our Old Fart Card, $7 a night.  This is high desert country, very low humidity, hot days, chilly nights.  The terrain around Sisters is flat but to the west the view is magnificent: numerous snow-tipped peaks are visible, including Bachelor, The Sisters, 3 Fingered Jack, Jefferson and Washington. 

The view looking southwest from the west end of Sisters.

I bought a new smartphone at Costco a week ago, an LG Lucid.  It was a frustrating piece of junk so I returned it and got a Motorola Razr Maxx, which is top-rated by Consumers Reports.  It was well worth the bucks, had everything switched over and downloaded within a couple days.  Meanwhile, Trish scored big time at the quilt fabric sale at Joann’s; she’s been salivating over this sale ever since she first heard about it several days ago. 
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The above-mentioned stores are in Bend which has a population of 80K; Sisters is much smaller, 3K or so - but pretty darn cute.  Most businesses have old west names, a restaurant called Bronco Billy’s for instance.  False front buildings abound.  It’s what one might call cowboy chic.  We've been here 3 nights, heading out tomorrow.

Crater Lake

Note the Pumice Castle rock formation in upper right.

It’s been about 27 years since I was last here with niece Mary Kay and her brother Steve.  We did a loop, leaving from my home in Beaverton, going down the OR coast and then cutting over to Crater Lake.  We were tent camping and one of my favorite memories is the night we set up camp in the dark near Klamath Falls.  We weren’t aware that our tent was virtually under a train trestle.  A train barreled over the trestle in the wee hours of the morning and scared the crap out of us.  Mary Kay sat straight up, rudely awakened from a sound sleep, and hollered, “What’s that?!”  Makes me chuckle every time I think about it.

Crater Lake was created 7000 years ago when 12,000’ Mt Mazama collapsed from its own weight.  Numerous eruptions over 400,000 years built up the mountain and as the lava flowed out, it created a honeycomb of vertical and horizontal tubes and vents.  The collapse must have made one hell of noise; imagine millions of tons of rock falling 1.5 miles - that’s the distance between the pre-collapse summit and the deepest point in the lake.

The lake is 6 miles across at its widest point and contains 4.9 trillion gallons of water.  We’re gonna need a lot more guys and a lot more buckets to empty it out and confirm that the above figure is accurate.  The guys have to be agile to carry the buckets over the rim to empty them out.  You see, the rim ranges from 507’ to 1978’ above the lake surface and the slope is 45 degrees plus.  I’m not gonna volunteer to be one of the bucket guys but I’ll gladly supervise.  Just get me a comfortable chair, find a nice shady spot and a cold 6-pack of IPA and I’ll be all over it.  On 2^nd thought, make it a case of IPA.  And some chips.  This is gonna take awhile.

PS: For many years I was a member of a Portland-based mountaineering club that was named after this mountain.  To become a member you had to take a course that included rappelling, bare rock climbing, belaying, etc, and summit a glaciated mountain.  The Mazamas had over 2000 members, was started about a 100 years ago.  They have a big lodge near Timberline on Mt Hood, great outfit.

Farewell Bend Campground

Watson Falls

Top of Watson Falls at 10X zoom.

This falls is on the North Umpqua, a ½ mile from hiway 138, which we traversed from Roseburg eastward.  It’s 273’ high.

Farewell Bend

This is a USFS campground in the Rogue Nat’l Forest, bordering the upper Rogue at 3400’ elevation, 10 miles west of Crater Lake NP.  Our campsite is right beside a mini-gorge where the river channels down from 40’ wide to 3’ at the narrowest point.  The rock faces in the gorge are sculpted and polished by the roaring, boiling water.

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Down the road 4 miles is a much larger and deeper gorge, with a flow rate of 410,000 gallons per minute.  How did they determine that?  Let’s see:

            A.  Build 2 coffer dams ¼ mile apart, with a large lift gate in the upstream dam.  Open the lift gate for 1 minute.  Have 10,000 guys line up between the coffer dams, each with a 5 gallon pail.  They bail out all the water, each guy keeping a careful tally on his bucket count.  When the bailing is all done you add up the tally and there you have it.  Piece of cake.

            B.  Use the coffer dams but replace the 10,000 guys with a couple generators and pumps.

            C.  Measure average depth, width and flow rate, do the math.  Least expensive method but not nearly as much fun to contemplate.

Nearby is Natural Bridge where the river disappears underground and travels through a lava tube.  It’s a beautiful area with towering Douglas Firs and the weather is perfect.  Many thanks to Doug and Jan for steering us to this area, and to Trish for cancelling our Crater Lake campground in favor of this one.  Not only is this campground more appealing, it costs 1/3 as much.  The private concessionaire at Crater Lake doesn’t accept the Golden Passport card (fondly known as the Old Fart Card) which provides with ½ priced camping in most federal campgrounds and free entry into national parks.

There’s another park named Farewell Bend; it’s on the Snake River on the OR/ID border.  At that point, the Oregon Trail pioneers split up, some continuing westward to the Willamette Valley, while others hung a left and headed south to CA.  I don't know why this park has the same name; I'll get back to you on the name origin.