Sunrise

Sunrise yesterday morning

70 Degrees

70 degrees is the average high temperature for the last week with a mixture of sun and clouds.  I was 71 degrees warmer than my sister in Minnesota last week when I called her.  Don't miss that.
   We gave our first evening program at the campground ampitheater on Thursday night.  About 45 guests attended which is a good number considering that the season is just getting started.  We also bothg gave our first 15 minute talk out on the back patio of the VC this week.  Javelinas were my topic; bats were R's.  Lots more to come.  I am going to add at least two more; desert tortoises and Gila Monsters.
   Something new offered this year are guided hikes and location talks.  Guided hikes are just that; a ranger led hike to a specific area with spots along the way to explain a certain feature or event.  Location talks are a program conducted at a certain location; a ranch site, archaeological site, historic site, or a prominant geological feature.  The park is going to offer van rides to folks who chose not to drive out to the areas, but those who want to drive can meet us at the special spot.  According to the standards set up at this time, location talks have to be in a readily accessible area that is close to parking.  I asked about having a talk at a ranch site that is a mile from a parking lot and I created some confusion with our bosses  After a long discussion, trying to put it in one of the two boxes, I decided to wait a while and ask the question again some time later.
    Three of us volunteers drove out to two sites to do research for location talks.                                                   Dos Lomitos Ranch





                                                           

                                                                     and Gachado Line Camp


 are located along the Mexican border just east of Lukeville, AZ.  This area has been closed to visitors since 2003 so it is a really cool to be able to visit these places.




The drive from Gachado to Dos Lomitas is 3 miles on the border in the Roosevelt Reserve which is 60 foot strip of Federal land that runs from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean.  There are 13 boundary markers that marker the border in the boundaries of Organ Pipe National Monument.

This is number 166. 

Hanging Fruit Cholla Skeleton

The Trip South

The Trip has been completed.  We are settled in our site in the VIP campground.  Our trip went as below.
We left Canby Friday morning and drove to Eugene.  While fueling up at Fred Meyer, I checked the ODOT webcam and report and found that Willamtte Pass required chains.  Bad.  So had to back track and drive over Santiam Pass.  It added several hours to our trip, the rig got coated with pumice dirt, but we got safely over the pass.
  First two nights in Klamath Falls with J & T.
  Second night in Hawthorne, NV at the Whiskey Flats RV Park, a good place to stay in the area. We spend some time getting things put away that had been packed at home after the slides were closed so this was the first time they were reopened.  It was cold there so homemade chicken soup tasted great. 19 degrees when we got going the next morning.  Had to scrape the windshield.  Sunny drive south
  Third night in Parker, AR. in a less then average mobilehome and rv park. left the rig hooked up again.  Basically ate and went to bed.  Not as cold.
   That left us with a 200 mile trip for our last day.  Stopped in Buckeye for fuel ( $2.71/ gal diesel) and groceries at Fry's (Kroger group store along with Smiths, and Fred Meyer).  116 miles south and we arrived at ORPI.  Hugs at the Visitor Center and then to our site.  1400 miles in total.  

Two Days and a Wake up (12/24/14)

   Yesterday was the day to work outside.  Lubed the fifth wheel hitch.  It is the type that teeters both front to back and side to side, so areas need grease smeared on them.  There is no way to accomplish this without getting grease on both hands and sometimes your clothes as well.  Plastic throw away gloves help a lot.  So that is done.
   Hooking up the trailer was fun.  It meant that time was close.  Time to hit the road.  Now if the snow gods will hold off until Friday night, we are good to go.

 

3 days and a wake-up

Yipes !   Time is flying by.  We are in the midst of packing.  I have all of my clothes packed, I think.
R is getting there.  The front of the trailer is packed, so that I can close the bedroom slide.  Then I will hook up and pull the trailer out and park it in front of the house.  Then we can pull the dining room slide out to finish loading the food into the kitchen cabinets.  Food takes the longest because of all the little stuff.
  Better get to it. 
       Can you hear the trailer calling to me.   "Hurry up and get the truck.  I"m inchin' to go!"

Nine days and counting

    So when do I pull the trailer out of the spot along side our garage and onto the street where I can totally open it up?  It sounds like rain is going to be with us for the next several days so waiting for a dry day is out of the question.   Living in Oregon it's not like we haven't been in rainy conditions before.
    Clothes can start being packed as well as equipment.  Food is a different matter.  Freezer stuff yes.  Staples sort of.  Milk, butter, bread etc. not until the day.  We have started to stage some items in a certain place in the garage and in the closet to help us. 

In the loading process there are several rules of travel that will happen, 
     1  There still will be last minute packing on the morning of...
     2   Some "important" item or items will be left behind.
     3   Several items taken will never be needed or or even touched during our entire summer.
     4   One or two new items will be added to the mix during our travels either as replacements for    ones broken or as something we previously didn't know that we needed.