Smoke and Mirrors

8/3/14
We left Left Lafayette at 6 AM. The “White Whale”, our ’98 Toyota truck with camper shell, was filled to the gunnels. Most importantly, Sandy our Shitzu, was comfortable in her dog bed in back of the passenger seat. Tent, cooler, sleeping bags and, of course, laptop, cell phones, camera and chargers all packed for the trip.
The drive up I-5 was smooth and creamy - no traffic and lots of 60s music to pass the time.
We stopped at a rest stop just north of Winters to stretch our legs and let the dog pee and saw the guys in “Orange” lined up at the bathroom. I chatted with the Sargent in charge and discovered they were on their way North to cook ribs for the firefighters. We didn’t think much of it except ribs sounded pretty good since we hadn’t had breakfast yet. Then as we approached Mt. Shasta the sky changed dramatically. We stopped at a “Vista Point” near Dunsmuir to check out the famed volcano - nothing was there. After staring for several minutes we could make out the outline through the smoke. Wild fires evidently were burning down Northern California. It got worse. Just before we got to our cut off, highway 97, we saw the sign - closed due to wildfires. Not ready to believe it we took the turnoff anyway and stopped at a fire fighter ready area. The fire fighter on duty confirmed the sign - the road was closed - time for a change of plans. Now it was back to I-5 and up to Oregon farther west than we would have wanted. The smoke was nearly unbearable. Windows up we persevered to the cutoff to Klamath Falls, our planned overnight stop. Highway 66 teased us with an organic chocolate factory - we took the turnoff but dam, it was closed. Still the smoke was thick for the hour long detour, but we were rewarded with sliders in Keno just before hitting our destination - cute town.
The Maverick hotel was as expected -  for $65 a night it’s not the Four Seasons - but just what we needed.
R

Close Encounters of the Amish Kind

8/4/14
There are a few tried and true tests to see if you are compatible with your loved one.  At the top of my list is assembling an item from IKEA.  The second best indicator is planning and actually going on a vacation with one another.  Growing up, our family took our yearly adventures into the woods.  Anticipation was always high and my dad and mom worked together like a pro team preparing for the outing.
I knew Ron and I were destined to be together the first time we went camping into the Klamath Wilderness area.  He was my kind of organized camper and I knew that we would have to have children to pass down the “camping gene”, thus keeping a vital skill, necessary for many memories, bug bites, and the assorted mishaps.  Plus, you get to have an excuse to shop for equipment and meet fascinating like-minded people!  My favorite!

On our previous camping vacay I started to notice other camper’s tents.  Ours was a smallish one, one that did not allow for standing in an erect position.  I made a pact with myself to immediately go home and find that two room tent that many joyful families were using.  Amazon here I come!  I purchased the huge Coleman of my dreams.  Fast forward to the present and here we are on our way to Crater Lake, Oregon.  As we were gathering all our necessary equipment, we realized two days before we were to leave that our lantern was a POS.  Forty bucks of batteries and replacement lights did not bring it back to life.  Another hunting opportunity presented itself and I had great luck on Craig’s List.  We now have an adorable red Coleman with two lamps, a nightlight, and the beauty of it, it’s rechargeable!  I haven’t named it yet, but trust me, it will come to me.
The only item of my dreams that was missing was a fold out table.  Shopping again!  We were in luck as we were cruising through Klamath Falls looking for gas and noticed a great big store and gas station.  Fred Myers!  We pulled in for gas and were immediately approached by a young man in a bright yellow vest.  At first we thought we were going to be robbed or asked for a handout.  Instead, he wanted to fill our tank and wash our windows.  That could very well be the  #1 reason to live here!  We inquired about the store merchandise
and the first words out of his mouth were “camping supplies”.  The vision of the table was turning into reality.  We are traveling with our little dog, Sandy, and wanted to know if we could take her in the store.  “I don’t see why not”!  Music to my ears.  Let me just say this, a visit to Oregon is not complete without a stop over to a Fred Myers.  We put the pup in the top of the cart and made a bee line for the sporting equipment.  There it was....my table.  It was only $35 and guess what, there is no sales tax!
We found The Maverick’s Motel in the AAA travel guide.  It took dogs and was pretty inexpensive.  I did have my doubts as I worried that there might be some other kind of business that went on there.  Take my breath away!  We checked in and noticed two young men with bowl haircuts and they seemed to be wearing Amish style clothing.  We immediately started to try to put the pieces together.  Ron made the comment, “Well how would they get here, in their horse and buggies?”
Not so fast mister!  We soon found ourselves face to face with the Amish as we were leaving to get gas.  We met Eli, Melvin, and Amos.  Questions just started flying out of my mouth that I couldn’t seem to control. They were very patient and explained to us that they were a group of ten from Missouri and Tennessee and were traveling by AMTRAC.  They had been to Sacramento and were headed to Crescent City to go camping.  Then on to Chicago and Niagara Falls.  Who would have guessed?  What healthy looking folks, and facial hair that would make ZZTop envious.  Of course I embarrassed Ron by asking if they knew of the reality show “Amish Mafia”.  Of course they hadn’t, they don’t watch TV.
Apparently the Indian front desk clerk had already beat me to the punch with that question.  They seemed to see the humor in it which still didn’t save me from a “tsk tsk, what were you thinking” admonishment  from my spouse.
There is a bright blue neon cow on the top of the restaurant next to The Mavericks.  The Creamery and Klamath Basin Brewing Company both seem to occupy the building.  I noticed earlier that there were motorcycle people enjoying food and libation on the lovely patio.  I kind of had a feeling that they weren’t having Black and Tans out there.  We wandered over for dinner and Sandy put on her excellent manners and she was leashed just outside the patio (no dogs allowed in food establishments).  Of course many people stopped by to comment on how cute she was and the wait staff was super nice.  They are proud of the fact that their beer is made on the premises, and what makes it unique is that they use the natural geothermal sources in the brewing process.  I had a hoppy IPA and Ron had their house made root beer.  Salads were in order...spinach, feta, and huckleberries with a huckleberry dressing and a grilled chicken salad with all kinds of goodies.  Great service.  Look for the neon Blue Cow if you’re ever here.  Ron is off to a 7 a.m. AA meeting, I’m off to shower with a bunch of teeny green bugs, and then to the complimentary continental breakfast in the lobby.  I wonder who I am going to meet!
N

Things that go Boom in the Dark

8/5/14
After a fabulous dinner of Angus sirloin steaks pan seared with sweet potatoes and salad we sat down to the traditional camping game of scrabble - which I won for the first time in a millennia. The clouds seemed to be thickening and Nancy kept asking “is it going to rain” every five minutes. That was a moot question. In another half hour, the roll of thunder and occasional flashes of lightening punctuated the evening. Without saying a word to each other the camping gear quickly was stowed away in the “White Whale”. It was still light but we made it into the new tent anyway, set up the lantern, grabbed our books and settled in for a long winter’s night - oh, that’s right it’s August. Now the drops of rain increased from a sprinkle to a steady down pour and claps of thunder and flashes of lightening became a steady rock concert. Sandy’s eyes widened as the booming increased and she cuddled for obvious reassurance. Adjusting to the cacophony was easy - natural in fact given that, after all, we were camping out. All of that natural drama was taken in stride but around 11 a horrific screaming ensued. A young girl howling “I don’t want to go to bed”. My first thought was to get up and go next door and tell her that the bears eat little girls that don’t go to bed. Nancy commented that the nice Japanese couple’s kids next door wouldn’t do that - I said that’s because they told them that Godzilla would kidnap them if they made any noise. Laughing we finally were able to doze off.
R

Mother Nature Will Build It and They Will Come

8/5/14
Let me go back to yesterday.  After a masterful job of setting up camp it was off to view the great Crater Lake.   According to geologists, some 400,000 years ago volcanic eruptions built 12,000 foot Mount Mazama. It is one of a line of volcanoes ranging from Northern California into British Columbia.  Two of the Earth’s crustal plates collided, and “wah-lah”, eruptions of magma proportions began to happen.  Lady Mazama had her days of fame some 7,700 years ago, spewing lava and ash for miles and thus creating some amazing formations, which we will get to later.  Fast forward to now, and the collapsed lid is now a deep basin filled with centuries of rain and snowfall.  We joined an international posse of sight seers at the Rim!  Meeting and chatting with folks adds such a personal dimension to trips!  Met a couple from Chico cruising and camping on a gorgeous Harley..what a way to go.  Took a photo of a grandpa, daughter, and her four children meeting up between Salinas and Seattle.  We heard German, French, and Chinese spoken all around.  It’s a bit mind-blowing thinking about families from far away imaging and planning their great American vacation and saying, “Hey, let’s go visit that Crater Lake in Oregon!”.
Ron has already filled you in on last evening’s weather and screaming child. I did have a Hershey’s bar in the bear pantry and was ready to go and bribe big time!
Fast Forward to today.  Found the camp showers to be hot, large, and fun to get to.  I had to walk to campground circle “F” to get there but it was filled with lots of campers.  It was like going to one of those RV shows.  There was one humongous “Rock Star” rig.  I can’t even begin to imagine how they settled it in the space.  There was not one thing set up outside...how sad.  Lots of amazing aero-dynamic Airstreams...truly works of sophisticated engineering, and everything in between.  Right now, I am just so elated with our Coleman tent, enjoying fresh air, and feeding all my new chipmunk friends the peanuts I so thoughtfully remembered to bring along.
One last note before Ron and I explore the local coin operated wash and dry...the neighbors with the screamer moved on.  Tonight is the presentation by a park ranger Dave Harrison in the conveniently located amphitheater entitled “Picture this: Statesmen, Shutterbugs and the National Parks”.  Should be fascinating.  And, yes, as a teacher I can write this entire excursion off the taxes!
N

Pinnacles of the Lost Ark

8/6/14
As Nancy delved into the park’s map guide for waterfalls, canyons, panoramic view points and outlet shopping - just kidding - the day’s adventure was now planned. First a stop at a waterfall, but where. About a mile from the campground was a road to the east where all of the day’s scenic spots were located and a trip around the lake. The sign said waterfall parking. We drove to the lot and wandered off into the woods - no waterfall - but we could hear it in the distance. Giving up we got back in the car and went back to the main road and there it was, Vidae Falls - we had driven right past it. Due to the lack of rainfall it wasn’t much to see but it was still beautiful.
Next stop the Pinnacles. The side road to this geologic wonder was about seven miles off the main road - I can’t describe how worth it the drive was. We pulled into the dead end parking and looked down into a deep gorge - amazing - hundreds of rock spires layered in shades from golden yellow to slate. The view was from the edge of a deep canyon. Vertigo immediately set in - I hate heights. Nancy and Sandy, of course, went right to the rim. “Come on over take a look.” “No Thank You!” I squealed like a little girl. “I can see it just fine from over here.” Having driven a car off a cliff in my youth I been to the edge before and don’t need to do it again. But then again the photo op couldn’t be passed up - nature’s minarets were maybe a once in a lifetime occurrence.
Photos taken we were off the ply the shores of the crater - Phantom Ship Overlook, Cloudcap Overlook, Pumice Point etc. etc. etc. God they were all beautiful views - we have photos for a lifetime - great memories.
Finally we finished the circle and headed back to camp. Problems to deal with: laundry, email (find an internet connection) and dinner. We solved all these in one fell swoop. Started the laundry at the Mazama Camp Center, internet at the Anne Creek Restaurant ($4 per hour) and dinner including a veggie pizza and salad bar while we were waiting. But the strangest thing was our waitress recognized us. We had worked together at Tourelle Restaurant of Lafayette fame more than 25 years ago. Linda (now called Anne) chatted with us and got us up to date on her life and we reciprocated with our story. This incident is well worth another blog.
Laundry done we headed back to camp and the evening show. Ranger (X) started the presentation in the amphitheater next to our camp. But as luck would have it she was unable to show her PowerPoint presentation - no power - a common theme we were also having (laptop, cell phones, and lantern) were all electrically challenged that evening. Her presentation went on into the darkness as she discussed one of the strange animals of the crater - the pica - a tiny relative of the rabbit that lives in the many rockfalls around the rim and does not hibernate. After answering many questions from the curious kids in attendance like do cars drive off the cliffs into the lake and does burning cow farts release global warming it was off to bed.
R

We are the Panthers

8/7/14
Thank you to the state of Oregon for deciding that now is the BEST TIME to repave every single road, thus providing for the Zen practice of patience!
A big shout out once more to Fred Meyer “We Have It All”
department store for propane (3 for $9.99) and head lamps for late night reading and trips to the restroom!
Muchas gracias to the NRA (the National Recreational Area...not the OTHER one) and all our dear fellow tax-paying Americans for camping areas with flush toilets, hot showers, and a heated fan that magically comes on at 2:30 am!
Entering Six Rivers National Forest and spotting several signs for camp grounds, we stopped at the headquarters in Gasquet for more info.  Armed with maps and General Information we headed back down to Panther Flat in a big hurry, having been informed that,“They fill up fast”.  Sure enough there were two sites remaining.  We staked our claim and set up camp.  After a short siesta we headed back down the road in search of gas for the truck and AAA batteries for our miners head lights.
Back at camp for some exploring of the trail to the middle fork of the Smith River.  A path led us down to a small pool of crystal clear water.  Sandy had a dip and washed off major layers of Oregonian dirt.  Boy, was she HAPPY! She did the belly crawl across the area, negating some of the results of nature’s bath.
Word of the Day:  anadromous!  Ok girls and boys, I’ll use it in a sentence.  The salmon swam up stream to spawn.  Six Rivers is best known for its dispersed recreation, rafting, kayaking, and best of all for its “outstanding anadromous fishing”.  The antonym for the word is catadromous!  More evidence for my  educator’s tax write-off.
Having a pasta dinner by the campfire, I was reminded of my mother’s favorite daily camping statement, “Why does food always taste better when you’re camping?”  Oh yeah, mom!
One last note before beginning a new adventure....Bless my husband for being the best sober person (317 days) EVER!
N

Why Not the Flat Screen?

8/7/14
We have a camping list that we have compiled over the years. Sleeping bags, tent, kitchen necessities, first aid kit etc. So why all this new stuff - cell phone, laptop & portable sound system. Good question. The cell phone, of course, doesn’t even function for it’s primary purpose - as a phone here in the wilderness. It does have lots of tunes on it - hence the sound system, and it also has a great little flash light app which has been very handy at times. It also functions as my watch - I haven’t worn one since I threw my last one out the window of a bus in Italy when it broke. But mostly we could do without ours.The laptop is a different story, we both like to write, journal and keeping up with this blog, but keeping it charged up has been quite a challenge. BITD (back in the day) when we were back packing, the bare necessities were all we carried - water, food, shelter - things on the lowest tier of Mazloff’s hierarchy of needs - the top human needs - spirituality, peace and beauty came included with the experience - no Flat Screen required.
R

Smore is Less - Into the Beyond

8/7/14
What Nancy and I bring camping often goes beyond the basics - especially when it comes to food stuffs. Butter, herbs, flavored vinegars, olive oil, mushrooms, steaks, marinara sauce and pasta to name some. But chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers may be standards campers always have. But we did buy a special extendable fork for toasting the marshmallows rather than the traditional sharpened sticks usually pressed into service. A contest naturally ensued for who could toast the marshmallows better - I like to have mine catch fire (and blow them out) and Nancy is the slow grilled type. The contest was a draw.
But the real fun was reading the labels on the marshmallow bag. “Choking Hazard - cut into small pieces for young children”. Evidently they can be extremely dangerous. This caused hysterics of the dark humor sort imagining a hungry camper having to have a Heimlich. Evidently the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man - of “Ghostbusters” fame did have a real weapon - he could have choked New Yorkers to death.
Just a side note about campfires. I don’t believe in the Boy Scout methodology of starting a fire by building a neat mini Hindu cremation pyre - I bring charcoal lighter fluid - something I learned watching “Apocalypse Now”.
Note to self: change guitar strings when I get home. My fingers are turning black when I play from all the campfire soot.
R

Wasp Trap..... Fun for All

8/7/14
When enjoying Mother Nature one is sure to encounter the annoying yellow jacket.  No need to stop by Ace for one of those ten buck traps..Ron has a simple solution that is quite amusing and can be made with what is already in your camping stuff (or should be).  The first thing you have to do is consult your map...I prefer the old fashioned paper kind..and determine the closest large city that will have a Safeway or any large market.  In our case, the last stop for us was Cave Junction with a Pack-n-Save. Purchase a rottissere chicken.  This serves as your lunch for at least two days and provides the necessary chicken bone “stock” for your trap.  While trying to eat, you will know right away what you are up against in terms of the population of your new BFF’s.  We used a large red heavy-duty plastic cup.  Place the chicken bones, some skin, and the juices from your purchase, along with water and a few drops of dish soap.  This destroys surface tension, so when the greedy little bastards fly in for a free meal, it is basically a “No Exit” deal!  This is where the fun really begins.  It’s kind of like the feeling you had when you were a kid on Christmas or your birthday.  When you return from a trip to the river, or whatever other entertaining adventure you have planned, you can run over to the trap and stare at your ex BFF’s with a smirk a mile wide.  Ron even named his the “In & In Burger...A Meal to Die For”, made a little sign from a paper plate, and duct taped it to a twig.  That way you will guarantee success with your no “out-of-pocket expense” trap!
Well it’s Friday and time to break camp. We hate to disturb Sandy, who is curled up in a sleeping bag, so we will work around that until the last minute.  Ron and I have had another amazing vacation from our too busy lives and are reminded how important it is to slow down.
N

The Evils of Scrabble

8/8/14
What a great night’s sleep. Probably the best one we had in spite of the leak in the air mattress and the 3 AM motorcycle roaring down nearby 199. But I still got up early and wrote in the peace and quiet of the forest. Breakfast was the next agenda - pancakes, maple syrup and eggs. Food always tastes better camping - no matter how simple. Showers taken a trip to Crescent City was in order - Nancy was craving tomatoes and the closest towns (stores, not really towns) have no produce. The Safeway there filled the need plus corn (or cron as it was called in Jefferson, Oregon), celery and salad greens for the evening dinner. All in all the trip took an hour or so. Back at the Panther it was now lunch time. For some reason camping is more about the meals than any other activity we do as humans. Like I said - must be because food tastes so much better. But now it was time to deal with the poor flaccid air mattress - it now looked so sad. Super glue and duct tape - the greatest inventions humanity have devised over the millennium - solved the problem. Now our mattress, filled with air, stood erect and proud. I felt like a gratified parent at our child’s soccer match. Did I mention lunch? Chicken salad sandwiches - roasted chicken from Jefferson (was that a hemp flavor I detected) made with the recently purchased celery and a side of corn (cron) chips and Laughing Cow Cheese - what’s so funny about that.
Off to the swimming hole. My real goal for the day was to go to the beach, swim and get some sun. The reality was our swimming hole was a tiny sand bar with a throng of middle aged moms and their kids trying to drown themselves in the glacial pools. In spite of the potential for disaster it was wonderful. The refreshingly frigid water and warm sun revitalized our camp dusted bones and the Sandy got another chance to not enjoy swimming. Energized from the swim and hike - what to do next? Take a nap, of course. The honest agenda of camping: eat, luxuriate in nature and sleep - “just the facts, mam”. Speaking of eating - dinner - hotdogs roasted over the open fire, warmed buns, condiments, fire roasted Cron, camp beans flavored the the breakfast maple syrup and salad greens vinaigrette - with the purchased tomatoes.
After dinner activities: guitar (how come it sounds so much better camping) and - dare I say it - the Evil Scrabble. Nancy jumped out to a mighty, insurmountable lead right off the bat. After that my will was broken - 3 letter words were all I could muster - after all what can you spell with a Z, a Q, a X and four I-s.