Time to Think About leaving The Woods – July 25

With the late night before, today was a lazy day. After a long sojourn – it’s time to start thinking about leaving The Woods. I got some of the little projects done that needed to be done. The 15W solar panel was installed (we’ll be needed it next week) – and I took the pop-up “off the grid” – to ensure that everything was working properly. I decided to shorten our stay in the Olympics in order to visit Mt St Helens. It’s a nice break point on the trip east – and I’d like to see it. We were living in Seattle in 1980 – when she blew – and I haven’t been there since. Got online – and determined our best bet for camping was Seaquest State Park – so I made reservations at a “primitive” site – no power or water – for a couple of nights. Might as well practice what we’ve been testing! HA!

During the day the boys found an albino cricket. Really. I was working on something – probably gathering all out scattered stuff – and I heard… “Hey! A PINK cricket.” Uh-huh. “No, really mom look at it.” And it was pink. Not flesh pink – hot pink, with white eyes. I took a bunch of pictures – sadly – they got eaten with the Mt. Rainier pictures.

It’s hard to leave The Woods – we’re having such a great time. And it’s nice to be all set up. But, it really is time to be moving on.

Travel to the Woods - 16 July

We managed to pull out of Collier State Park at about 10 am. Later than I would have liked, but the boys and I are still getting into the swing of things.

In Bend seredipity struck. We stopped for gas and grub, and sharing a parking lot was a U-Wash Dog place. Taiko was dirty when we left Sacramento. And after mosquito repelent, dust, and dirt from the campground - well, untouchable is a fitting description. So, while the boys munched on Burger King - I washed dog. Very nice.

George, who has been following us diligently on SPOT thought our lengthy stop in Bend remarkable, until he logged into the bank to update our checkbook and saw the charge at the U-Wash. That gave him a good giggle. He's loving SPOT. I'm not so certain about him commenting - "I see you parked at the south end of the parking lot at that rest area." Hummmmm. Still, it gives him a great deal of peace of mind, and I can always turn it off. HA!

The pull from Bend to Yakima kept me awake. Winds were heavy, and even though I had the sway bar cranked up - the camper would still bounce around. I can only imagine what pulling a high profile trailer through that crosswind would have been like. Yikes!

We hit Cle Elum at about 6pm. The van, bless it, managed to pull the camper up the ridge to The Woods. It wasn't fast, but we got here. Mom and Dad were waiting with dinner. And the boys and I got set up in about half the time it took us at Collier State Park. We're getting better!

Collier State Park (OR)

First off, here are a couple of pictures taken at the house right before we jumped in the van and left.

We made Collier State Park for the first night. Mom and Dad had driven by it many times and suggested that it might be a good stopping off point for our first night. No reservations are taken - it's first come, first served. We pulled in about about 8pm, and, since it was so late, decided on a pull through spot. I asked for something quiet, and the camp host said "It's quiet as the grave after 10pm." (10? try more like 9! and he was right - it's a very quiet campground.) So, we settled into B15 on his recommendation.

We really liked the campground, full hook ups, 30 minutes from Crater Lake, relatively unknown, clean hot showers, laundry room, for only $17/night. Plus, you can take a short walk to their logging museum. AND, it's dog friendly. What's to hate?

Well, dog friendly might be in question. The massive amounts of chipmunks had Taiko so wound up he refused to eat. And, once they figured out how long his lead was they stayed just out of reach.

Anyway, we got camp set up, and dinner on the table by 9:30pm. Not too bad for our first night.

Everyone was very friendly. I'd really recommend this campground as a jumping off place for trips to Crater Lake. And, if you fish - it's right next to a fishing river.

Sadly, I was so busy keeping the camp running, I neglected to take any pictures. Sigh.