Morning at the hot springs was very nice.  I have not lived in this van in hot weather yet – I got it in December, so today was my first morning waking in an open field to a cloudless sky on a hot day.  It got pretty warm pretty quick in there.  As soon as I opened the big door all was well – it is it’s own shade structure, and there was a little breeze and it was very pleasant.  But it is a little preview of what B-man or Coachella will be like should I get it together to go.

Hit the tubs one more time, then hit the road.  Because of the wet spring, the landscape is still green-ish instead of brownish and extra-lovely for it.  Late (1:30) breakfast at Jerry’s in Lakeview, where I think I’ve stopped and eaten every one of the four times I’ve ever passed through Lakeview in my life.

After Lakeview is the huge but very shallow Goose Lake on the right and the Warner Mountains on the left.  The Warners are a pretty substantial mountain range – 8-9000′, with the pass across at 6200′.  I pass through Alturas on the way to the Alturas Wildlife Refuge Auto Tour, one of my favorite little things in this corner of the state.

Most of these little California towns are getting gentrified to some extent, but Alturas seems to be the same slightly grimy unappealing little cow town it’s been forever.  If there’s anything nice about the place I haven’t found it.  Gas is way more expensive than it needs to be, this time and every time, you can depend on it. I have not found edible food there, and the motels are disreputable.  But the wildlife refuge is exquisite.

Drive over the hill to Cedarville, which I find to be the esthetic opposite of Alturas.  It is quite a bit more isolated, but gas turns out to be the same price over here and the station is cleaner.  But its main attraction to me is this cool little restaurant with wifi(!) and good food that has become my goto spot in this remote part of the world (called Surprise!, I think, as in the Surprise Valley).  I zoom in there to research the local campgrounds.  I had missed my lovely campground on the way over, and wanted to check the internet, which confirmed it’s existence for me.

Yet I STILL cannot find it, so I aim for the other campground on this highway – Stough CG.  But this little c.g. turns out to be stuffed full of cars and people – some kind of extended family gathering it appears, so I head on up the gravel road and find a perfect little meadow about a mile onward, not much in the way of scenic beauty, but it’s level and quiet and it’s almost dark anyway, so it’s a great place to overnight.

My first real night of dispersed camping, which is what the rangers call it when you don’t stay in an official campground.

last day

Back to Cedarville, to visit the BLM office and the Forest Service office and of course the excellent internet cafe.  Turns out the Forest Service website is out of date – beautiful little creekside campground was closed, because of “danger of falling trees” if you can believe that.  I guess I do believe it; the lady was quite sincere, but what a crock.  So the good news is that I am not losing my mind, there was a campground, but it is no longer.

I took the slightly longer but quite fun and of course nearly deserted back way home, through Gerlach and around Pyramid Lake.  Lovely day for that drive.  Above Gerlach the terrain seems quite a bit less harsh than on the B-man run – I-80 north to Gerlach.  There is even a little lake called Squaw Reservoir that looked like a cool place to stop someday.

summer lake

Dang Summer Lake is long!  Planning my day I thought maybe I’d spend the night in Bend, but once there I just didn’t feel like it, so I decided to press on to the hot springs.

I drove through Bend, and it was every bit the happenin, hipster-rich nexus of self-satisfied outdoorsy coolness that always is, and … it just didn’t float my boat (I seem to have issues with Bend…).

It was 3pm, and one path would have been to park the van; eat, drink, walk around the river, then lo-pro it for the night in “Old Bend”, the official name of the upscale neighborhood south of downtown.  Oh, and spend a few hours in the very nice Bend library web-surfing.

But that was the path not taken.  Instead I drove through town without stopping and just kept going on down that long road to the Summer Lake Hot Springs resort.  And now that I’m here, typing and looking out at about a 40-mile view, I feel pretty darned good about it.   But the last half-hour was stressful.  Not heart-attack stressful, just “I wish this was over” stressful.  I got to the north end of Summer Lake (part lake, part playa, part rolling fields of something, part sagebrush, but all in all, one really big, really flat valley), and kinda went into happy, “oh I’m here” mode, but alas, it was another 25-30 miles of a really scenic drive, that sadly I didn’t pay much attention to, because I wanted to GET THERE!

But now I’m here, $15 for the run of the place, got my van positioned just right with the big door pointed towards the maximum view, and I’m ready to hurry up and relax!

Pretty fun day.  Got up, fiddled with this blog, then left my lovely spot to go find the next lovely spot.  My route took me past Detroit Dam and the Detroit Lake, and thus the town of Detroit Lake.  There was a likely little diner there that shocked me completely by having wifi!   This was excellent, because I was able to research the next couple of days of travelling.

I knew that I wanted to return to Terwilliger Hot Springs, but the Hot Springs Hiking book said there was another spring on the way  – XXX Hot Springs, in a hidden little cove of the YYY River.  I followed the directions to that, and even found it, but sadly it was not hot.  It was warm, quite a bit warmer than the frigid river three feet away, but not really warm enough to count.  I found the spot of warmest seepage and plunked my butt there for a few minutes just to soak up (so to speak) the beauty of the spot – watching the river from eye level, the trees, the shadows, the clouds, the sounds of the water … sigh …, then it was time to find the real heat!

I got to Terwilliger 6:30-ish.  I visited on the last trip, so I knew the drill.  It is on National Forest land (Willamette N F) but has a $5 admission, that I think goes entirely to keep up the springs.  Actually the relation of the civilian hippies who collect the money and the government who owns the site is a little hazy to me, but the whole setup is worth the $5, and everybody is very nice, so I ain’t sweating it.

The site is excellent.  You park at a pull-off next to the lake, walk back 100 yards, and (pay the toll and) follow a path along an estuary of the lake for 1/3 mile.  There is a waterfall falling off the bluff directly into the lake across the way that is quite dramatic and beautiful.  Then you get to the spring, which comes out of the side of the hill quite hot and which flows through at least five successive pools, each a little cooler than the last (duh).  I stick to the upper three, although the first can get too hot.  Clothing optional.

The nice hippie lady told me of a good area to look for camping, along the Blue River Reservoir.  I followed her directions, came up around the lake to a really sweet little spot.  Lookout CG is only $10 because the water pipes are broken.  But still it was pretty full,  It was also much more free-form than the usual Nat Forest campground.  For example there were no numbered sites, evidently you just park where you want and pay your money!  I was about to give up hope of finding a sufficiently quiet place, but at the very far end was the PERFECT spot for me!  Drive to the end of the road and park, literally 10′ from the lake.   Check out the pictures, you’ll be jealous. Nice small lake, only one motorboat all day,happy kid sounds from around the corner, but no people or houses visible from my spot.

Waxing gibbous moon last night, right over the lake.  I lucked into a good one here – the c.g. is average, but this exact spot is rad!

Mornings at adult Disneyland are perhaps even more soul-satisfying than evenings – tasty pastries at the gift shop, and free coffee 24/7 at the front desk!  So this morning I read today’s Oregonian on the front porch, hit the hot pools one more time (lovely little goldfinches when there aren’t people to scare them away), little bit of web-surfing, lunch at the Powerhouse, and I’m off about 130-ish.

A nice Daddy’s Day call from Martha, then I head back around the beltway to Oregon City, to check out Willamette Falls.  The falls and the little bridge from which to view them were excellent, even though I never heard of them until two days ago.  Oregon has a slew of really cool 30′s bridges, and there is another one here, which I found very photogenic.  I got a little lost, got a little well-priced diesel, got un-lost, got to Safeway where I bought way too much food, then stumbled forward through the intermittent rain to this excellent campground for $14.  A quick decision to stop at a ranger station even though it was way past closing time showed me a map of the area with lots of semi-wilderness down this little side road.

Little North Fork Santiam Recreation Area

This was another night to lose some of that idea of not going to campgrounds.  One factor is that this tall skinny van is really not too great on rough roads, kinda top-heavy and wobbles alarmingly sometimes.  So the off-road places I can get to are limited by how willing I am to endure the road to get there.

Tonight for instance, I did park just off a gravel road that ended at a closed bridge over the Little Santiam River.  I ate my Safeway dinner there, then walked around and saw the No Camping sign and had a failure of will on the whole idea.  I hit the paved road again, cruised around for awhile, and ended up at the BLM campground 1/2 mile down the road.

I am finding that BLM camps are either obscure and ignored, or unusually delux.  This is one of the latter sort, well-built, well laid out, well-maintained.  Each site comes with its own recycling box!  On a lovely little river full of green pools and rapids, classic Oregon piney woods setting.

Well, it’s the bane of my traveling existence – the weekend.  The time when everything is a little more crowded and annoying that it otherwise would be.  I never really knew what I was going to do with myself after the van repairs had been accomplished – I knew I would take a few days and do something, but had no particular plan – and this morning I’ve decided to weather Saturday night at adult Disneyland again, and sort of retrace the route I took to come up here, just more slowly.

Two days ago in my rush to make the NBA seventh game I drove past an overlook for the Falls of the Willamette River, and it bugged me to not stop, so I’ve decided that I want to go back ant stop at that overlook on my way home.  That means I will be going back towards Portland,  back past the Edgefield, which I can never get enough of, so there ya go, that’s the plan!  I will do some kind of Gorge hike today (of which there are many excellent choices) and end up back at the good ole Edgefield for Saturday night.

I end up taking the Multnomah Falls loop hike, 6.2 miles and 1540′ elevation change.  That wore me out!  But it was fun and quite beautiful – four really nice falls, two excellent rushing streams (one up, one down), panoramic river views, and lots of people. And I got righteously tired.  Normally lots of people is a defect rather than an asset, but there was such a June-weekend variety that it was kind of interesting today – like being amazed at how far that cranky-looking lady had come in those uncomfortable-looking shoes … that kind of thing.  A great hike.

A nice thing about resigning yourself to the dormitory at Edgefield is that you don’t have to worry too much about getting a room.  The place was stuffed to the gills – at least three separate wedding parties (oh June!), but still, only 5 of the 12 available beds were taken.  Since the beds are bunks, I imagine the place starts feeling crowded after six guys, since somebody will have to be sleeping on top of somebody else, but that did not happen tonight, so all was well.

Since it was my second visit on three days I wasn’t so manic about partying — I hit the soaking pools and read and web-surfed until 10pm, at which time the happy hour food and drink specials kick in, so I dined and drank in a moderate fashion (see I can do it!) in a crowded and noisy bar and went back to my dorm and slept the pleasant sleep of the well-behaved for a change.

Here in the peace and quiet of Herman’s Creek Campground, I’ve been breaking down in my head which van features have turned out to be essential, and which others less so.  So here is a rank-ordering of the importance of the expensive gee-gaws I signed up for.

rank-order of the features I need

In typical 80-20 fashion, the first four (well, let’s make five) items give me at least 80% of my joy, and everything else is expensive gravy.

1. shelter – It is a cold, rainy day here in the Columbia Gorge.  Shocking, I know.  In my truck, I would be having a miserable time, or more likely I would have chickened out and would be watching cable tv on a motel bed.  One can spend only so much time huddled in a camper shell.  A spacious, well-cushioned interior space in which I can stand up is the number one thing I’m glad to have every day.
2. power – That is, functionally endless electricity, from my marine battery powered by my solar panel.  Being able to do what I’m doing right now (typing this post) is the cherry on the sundae of my hanging in the wilds on a rainy day.
3. solar panel – Without this I would be wedded to annoying campground RV hookups every couple of days.  With this adequate power is always there … providing I remember to turn everything off when I should (see my post on lists).
4. heat – When you need it you need it.   The fan on my propane heater is very noisy and wakes me up every time it kicks in, but if it’s 30′s or less outside it’s a big comfort feature.  It got down into the high 30′s in Sisters the other night, and it was pretty sweet to just set the thermostat on the heater to take the edge off of it.
5. running the sound system off the aux battery – A small thing, but listening to NPR or a Giants game at the campsite without worrying about running the battery down is pretty nice.  I’ve lately taken to leaving the radio on when I’m running errands around town – why?  because I can!
6. refrigerator – I would be ok with good ole cooler technology for keeping things cold, but the fridge is pretty darn user-friendly.  Because of the battery and solar panel, I just turn the fridge on when I start a trip and turn it off when I get home, and that’s as complicated as it gets.
7. microwave – It’s quite a drain on the battery, and it’s a pretty wimpy nuker compared to my home model, but it’s awfully handy for the leftovers a thrifty guy like me accumulates … in the refrigerator.
8. stove – So far all I’ve used it for is boiling water, but hot tea at night and hot coffee in the morning are essential to quality civilized living, yes?
9. sink + hot water – this is the first night I’ve had a functioning sink.  I think it will be handy – brushing teeth, rinsing plates, and face it, grimy hands are a bore after a hard night of tending the campfire, so cutting the muck with soap and hot water will be nice.
10. rest of the water system (shower), rest of the propane system (outside bbq hookup) – have not used these yet
11. awning – just used it today for the first time because it’s raining, to give myself a little dry area.  I’m missing something on it because the struts do not fit into their brackets the way they did at the shop, but if I ever do use the ole van for serious festival-going – Burning Man or Coachella or the like – I will be glad I have it.

oh yeah, today’s camping report:

Campsite #1 here offers a really choice panorama of the Columbia River through the trees, and at the back end of the campground is a spur trail to access the extensive web of trails (including PCT) that run along the gorge.  And it’s only $10, which is a pretty good deal for right on the Gorge, I think.  But despite all the ingredients for happiness being present, something is missing.  Whether it is me or the weather or the campground is unclear (Edgefield hangover?), but I am not very charmed by the place and not real excited to be here … I think I’ll blame it on the rain …

So after fighting the freeways to get here – suburban Portland traffic really is quite sucky – I arrive, book a room in the men’s dormitory ($34 incl tax), take a full fifteen minutes(!) of time to chill out, then headache be damned, I’m off to find the fun!

Out of all their 10 or so bars, only one has teevees, the basement pool hall..  Normally a good thing, but not on game seven night!  But anyway, that bar is only a coupla hundred yards from the band, so my early evening is taken care of nicely.

This being grown-up Disneyland, you can walk around with your drink anywhere on the grounds (except the soaking pools), so I could blow off the game at a commercial break or halftime, and I could blow off the band at a set break or boring song, walk 80 yards and maximize my fun!  The band was pretty good; the game was torture.   I blew off the game with about two minutes left to catch the last set of the band, and the fact that when the set ended there was still about 20 seconds left in the game tells you a lot about the modern NBA’s enslavement to the needs of television.

Grab a bathrobe at the desk (love those bathrobes!) then off to the soaking pools.  Then … oh my goodness it’s happy hour again!   On of the more charming traditions of the McMenamin’s empire is the second happy hour from 10pm to closing in all their many, many bars.   For some reason, probably just the sheer excitement of being in adult Disneyland, I have three more beers, which made the grand total for the evening way too many for me.

But I did sleep well in the men’s dorm.

1. I am awakened 8-ish by the van guys coming to work.  I hand over the keys and clear out.  I did not sleep well at all; I kept turning over and wondering if it was time to get up – I hate that.
2. They check out my water system, the water heater seems to be working just fine.  They pressure-tests the whole system, so woo hoo, I am good to go!
3. Off to Upscale Auto to get my swivel seat installed (they are about $70 cheaper than Specialty). On the way over I notice water seeping out of the reservoir area of the van, sigh…. Upscale does install my swivel seat, but it’s f—ed up in a way that mystifies them – the sharp metal corner of the base needs to take a chunk out of my door post just to complete the swivel. But I decide to live with, and pay up.
4. Sigh… back to Specialty to show them the water on the floor. My guy is not amused, but I clear all my stuff out of the back half of the van and he tears into it and does find a leak, a little crack in the PVC that runs from the tank to the pump (I think…), which is not part of the pressurized system, so that’s why he didn’t find it earlier.
   Did I mention that I have a raging headache by now? I partied a little too much with the Idaho Chardonnay last night (really … Chardonnay from Idaho, marked down to $2.97 at the Susanville grocery), and I’ve felt pretty crappy all day.
5. While moping around the shop I ask Rob if he has any theories on why my swivel seat is screwy, and he tears right into that, even though it’s not even his shop who did the work.  These guys are really very great. He looks at it, and immediately diagnoses that they’ve installed a driver’s side swivel on the passenger side. The center of the swivel – the pivot point, is offset from dead center so the thing won’t bang into the door, so installing the opposite one bangs into the door really badly.
6. So … my water system really is fixed, I am done with Specialty.  I am re-packing all my stuff in the back of the van with one hand while yakking on the phone with the shop foreman at shop #2.
7. I return to Upscale, where they do have the correct unit in stock (thank goodness), and replace it in about 20 minutes. In their defense, the box was mislabeled, the screw-up was back in Slovakia or wherever the heck the thing was made, where they put a driver’s swivel in a passenger’s box.

So … that’s two trips to two different repair shops.  Wearing a groove in the route from the little industrial park in Lake Oswego to the little industrial park in Tualatin and back, and forth, and back… I am done.  Seems like a lifetime, but it’s only 4pm!   Boy there sure is a lot of day when you get up at 8, haha.

My plan has been to treat myself to a night at Edgefield, and since this is game 7 of the NBA Finals tonight, my extra point of emphasis has been to be settled there and ready to watch tv by tip-off time at 6pm.  So I insert myself into the brutal Portland freeway traffic and am off to adult Disneyland!

I am supposed to get my ass to Speciality Vans by this early afternoon, so I am starting the day with a very un-vacation-like feeling of needing to be somewhere at a particular time.  The weather helps by being crappy, so I can speed through the presumably beautiful mountain scenery without feeling like I’m missing anything.

I actually do pretty well on the timing – I’d forgotten that the shop is right at an I-5 interchange, so I was there before I knew it … so to speak.  The shop brain trust listens to my story of not quite draining my water system before the hard freeze, the water seepage and such, and decide the best way to go would be to start tomorrow morning.  They suggest sleeping right there in the parking lot.  Works for me.

So I kill the rest of the afternoon trying to go places, but mostly being defeated by the truly horrible evening rush traffic in these well-to-do suburbs of Portland.   I spend a couple of pleasant hours out of the hurly-burly in the Tualatin Library, then the rest of the evening in the Borders at the upscale shopping center reading WordPress and JQuery books, basically just killin’ time.

I tuck myself in at the parking lot about 11pm – yes I can get the shop’s wifi!  But sadly for me I drink too much crappy white wine so that I feel quite haggard all through my busy day tomorrow.

This really is a new style of living for me.  Heck, let’s call it a lifestyle! So far I like it very much.

The plan was to look for a spot in the National Forest on the other side of Sisters OR, but as I entered Sisters I saw this sweet little city-run campground in the pines right on the river, right on the outskirts of town.  $13, for a no-hookups site, senior discount.  Why, that even works for me!

In the mythology I had built up about the van, I would mostly be outside the campground system, just setting up “anywhere”.  But as it turns out, I’m pretty happy paying $15-ish for that sense of belonging, of not worrying about being told to move.  Oh, and having a proper pooper is pretty nice …  that particular piece of equipment being the most notable thing I chose not to have.  And this one has a nice shower!

So, park it, cruise the town, watch the sunset, look for a plausible bar and not find one (all bars in town seemed to be in the back of Mexican restaurants), return to the campground, get the combo to the shower door lock from the host, and all is good in Sisters.