Aug 17 Monday (Brookins, Harrison State Beach )

Spent the whole day in the CG, recovering from my crash. Boys at the playground & beach.Was able to wi-fi at the laundry mat on & off. Mark doing all the laundry. He’s been very good at doing all the dirty work from dishes to setting up camp. He even cooks every now & then.

5ish At Fred Meyer grocery. Made chicken soup with lotsa red potatoes, garlic, broccolli, onions, green beans, seasonings, & a whole organic free range chicken. Kids said it was the best soup ever. Hunger is the best sauce! But I agreed it tasted so good with bone-in chicken, the soup hot & nurturing. Ate half of it.

8 In bed early ‘cuz in pain. Had ibuprofen & lotsa wine as pain reliever tranquilizer.

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Aug 18 Tues ( Harrison beach)

7ish Restless dreamless sleep. Still achy. Slept on & off all night. Arm socket & neck hurting, but I’m ready to rock & roll again. Ibuprofen & wine will help get me going.

10ish At the beach playing frisbee & enjoying the morning sun.

1ish Having the rest of the chicken soup.

2ish Back at the beach. So foggy but not that cold.

5ish Boys at the CG playground. Kids so good at finding their way in the CG. They go shower & play around the CG on their own with neighbor parents. We blow our loud whistles to signal them for meal time & when we have to leave.

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Aug 19 (Wednesday) From beach to lava beds

9ish All packed up & showered. Been able to shower everyday on the Oregon coast. One week of hot showers. Nice! Off to Lava Beds National Monument . Near the Ca border so we cross it in just 5 mins. from our Oregon CG on Harrison beach.

10ish At Redwood National Park . Grand redwood trees reaching for the sky. Some trees so wide , it would take 10 people to embrace one.

Having breakfast.

2 pm At Oregon Caves Natl Monument .

5 All done with the Oregon caves. 90 minute tour by ranger. $8.50 per adult. $6.50 for kids. Wow!!!! Stalactites & Stalagmites & luminous ones, draperies!!! 44 degrees inside the cave. The railings were ice cubes when u held on to them, climbing up and down.

Off to Lava Beds, CA.

5ish Met Mark’s buddy & family somewhere in Grant’s Pass. Just said hi & chatted a little bit & said our goodbyes.

6ish At COstco for veggie pizza. Luv luv pizza & not having to cook. We eat a slice in the store & eat the rest in the car.

6:30 102  degrees outside thermometer board says, & the sun is already down. In Eugene, OR . .Must have been so much hotter earlier in the afternoon. Heard there was heat wave in inland Oregon to 110s. We were on the coast so it was cold & foggy.

11ish pm Cannot believe we’re still driving trying to find a CG. Mark keeps getting lost or CG is closed or CG doesn’t exist anymore. Or he thought it was a flat road & not zigzag mountainous. So hard to see in the dark he said. Haaaaay. Driving aimlessly through the mountains. So tired. Kids were asleep earlier & now wide awake. I’m crabby & sleepy but not complainin. Feet so cramped, & still in pain from ATV crash. Can’t even lift left arm.

12:05 a.m At Lava Beds, National Aug 20     Midnight !!!!

Finally at CG. Same one we visited two weeks ago, when the youngest scared me when he disappeared in the middle of the night,  for  awhile, at a neighbor campsite. Thought he walked into the wilds to be lost forever.

Mark quickly pitches tent in the dark with car light. He’s’ mastered putting up that tent , can set up camp in 7.5 minutes. Clocked him once.

Kids & I brush our teeth in the bathroom . Kids so wide awake & keeping daddy company. I stay in the car till mattresses & beddings ready. After all I’m the princess. Beautiful night & we enjoy the star filled skies & see shooting stars. They all fall asleep quickly. It took me longer to unwind. The last time I checked my watch was 2:10 a.m.

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Aug 20 ( Thursday ) Lava Beds

6ish  All up so early inspite of getting in bed so late. Kids too excited to see the caves they missed in Lava beds . I’m still so groggy but we pack up for Medicine lake. The boys have the remainng pizza from last night on the road.

7:45 At visitor center waiting for it to open at 8 , & for the gates to the caves to open. Mark buys ice .

We visited all the volcanic caves in this monument. Lots of interesting lava  tubes u can go in and out of, some a mile long, with ice on the bottom!!! It gets that cold!

Ice Cave and that’s Ice here!

Boys enter one cave & pop out at another exit, like groundhogs. They enjoy doing that & surprised how far they are from their starting point.I was still groggy to go exploring with them this time in all the caves. Many times I’d asked to be left behind, somewhere midway, where there was sunlight. But then I’d hear them walking on top, from another exit. I’d holler & blow my whistle & they’d come peer into the hole, Mark asking me if he could just drop me the flashlight &  find my own way out where we entered. I stand my ground & refuse to go through the dark alone. Mark has to come & rescue me & escort me back out. Those lava tubes can get spooky if u do it alone. One is braver with company. Even Mark refused once to go back to one of the caves, when he lost his flashlight. It gets creepy in there.

9ish At Murdoc National Forest , Hogue CG. We’re camping on the rim of a volcano with a lake. Part of the Medicine lake highlands area. A shield volcano. Lotsa people boating & swimming. We find a campsite right beside the lake. The kids frolic in it right away. Perfect not too hot not to cold CG. Feels good in the shade.

Mark makes coffee for him & Double Bergamot Earl Grey  Tea for me. We have chicken egg porridge for lunch with broccolli & cantaloupe. I get to sit in my lounging chair with my tea, dark choc cookies, and books, with feet up on a tree.Mmmm. I treasure relaxing moments like these when we’re not always out & about exploring. Don’t get it much. The boys get ansy & need to be always busy. I would rather just stay put for most of the time.

2 pm Off to little glass mountain & pumice mountain. 300 years old. Zach’s eyes wanna pop  out upon seek glasslike mountains & mountains of obsidian made by the volcano. Road so primitive. Not even a forest road / logging road . Just dirt road all the way.

Went to lookout tower that u can rent. Mark said he’s gonna rent this next time. Not excited about that since it’s so high up & the drop on the side of the road scared me. No railings & all. But I gotta admit u can’t beat the view. A big group of people there with their bikes & ATVs and numerous telescopes. One room cute house. Several campers in their sleeping bags were sprawled all over. We like renting cabins, guardhouses, Lookouts to break tent camping in the middle of our trip. But this trip we were sort of winging it. We were supposed to go to Washington but we were enjoying Oregon so much, we opted to play in Oregon . Less driving, that’s  good to me.

$7 a night per campsite ‘cuz it’s so remote.

Elevation 7000! The highest we’ve camped this trip but it’s warm here! Liking the weather so much.

We gather dried firewood in the forest for a bonfire.

At the CG, the kids go on a boat ride with neighbors across the lake. This volcanic crater lake is 700 feet deep in the middle! Shallow all over the shore & u can walk a long way before it descends. This lake gets 200 feet of snow each winter. That’s where the water comes from. Earlier, we saw an old man filleting a couple trout he caught in the lake. I want so bad to fish!

For dinner, I cooked Brazilian collard greens with black beans & bulgur wheat pilaf.

Then I had a craving to eat fruity oatmeal at the bonfire. I made that! So good & satisfied sweet carb craving. Got the recipe from “Vegetarian Uranian wholefood cookbook” by Jorhan Ahlquist, that I got on this trip. Here is the recipe:

Fruited Oatmeal

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3 cups boiling water
3 tbsp raisins
4 chopped dates
4 chopped prunes
1 tbsp rapadura sugar or maple syrup

Add oats to boiling water & summer,stirring occasionally, till water is absorbed. Add dried fruits, mixit in. Put lid back & turn off heat after 2 mins. Let it sit 10 minutes covered (no peekin) before opening.

My kids and neighbor kid enjoyed my dessert & asked for more helpings.

The neighbor old man who was filleting his trout in the morning, came  over with a bowl of fried trout for us to enjoy. Wow! So fresh & crisp. Mmmm. The neighbors around here in their RVs have been neighborly. We needed a cup of gas for our stove ( been enjoying cooking too much on this trip that’s why ), so neighbor gave us some. Then they needed olive oil so we gave ‘em some. We babysat their dog with wire fur, to the delight of the kids. Fed their kids snacks. Kids rode on their boat. Just wonderful to meet nice people.

The neighbors in front of us are homeschoolers. We knew they had to be since the kids were studying when we got to the campsite Flexible studying schedule with no walls,

9  Pm Everyone in bed after bonfire dies down. Another summery night with star filled skies.

Aug 21 Friday (Day 2, Hogue CG on the lake )

8 am The kids & I woke up late. Must be making up for lost sleep from driving to CG till midnight   this morning.

Mark was already up at crack of dawn running & exploring, making hot super porridge, coffee, tea, & hot cocoa for everyone. He was already at the lakeside reading & drinking his ‘cuppa, when I got up.

9 to 11:39  am

I get to enjoy the warm breezy  morning, lakeside, eating breakfast brought by Mark, with my Tea & books. How I love unhurried mornings like these. What a lovely way to bring our camping trip to a close. In two days , we will be back home to city life.

11:30 Off to explore more caves!

12 noon At John Dean Cave. An ice cave. Just walk a few feet near the entrance & ice all over. It looks like the stream just suddenly froze solid.

Explored another glass mountain full of obsidian Rocks & pumice. Ate cantaloupe while rock searching.

2ish Back at CG heating up dinner last night.

Made double bergamot tea & had it with German stollen,  while sitting on front of the lake reading, for a couple hours. Still working on “The egg & I”. So windy!! Can’t “bake” my choc. cake till the wind dies down.

While I  relax & do nothing, the boys are out swimming in the lake, rafting, boating & hiking. I can’t keep up with their need to be constantly moving. Getting too old & tired for that. Mark had to be the escort though he mentioned he would rather lounge & read like me. I got tired just looking at them at play.

Mark told me that during their hike, they were chasing this one flying grasshopper for 30 mins! They took
turns trying to catch, all around the woods , but eventually lost it.

When Zach & neighbor boy were rafting, they were going in circles for a long time , since my little boy didn’t know how to paddle right. They made it back after a long time of trying to synchronize. Our next door neighbors were so nice. They kept inviting us to boat ride, use their hot shower, etc.

So tempted to get that hot  shower since I like washing my hair every other day. But I’ll wait tmrw for next CG. Will make do with wipes. The kids had so much fun playing with the two boys around our kids ‘age. They were so polite & well mannered. They lived just an hour away, & raise sheep, hunt deer, quails, vegetable garden,fruit trees,  etc. My dream ! So fascinated to hear their modern day pioneer living. I dream of life like that but with conveniences of modern technology. Someday. The mom was a retired physicist from the bay area, but moved to Oregon 20 years ago.( And has never looked back. ) She had so much energy & was like a happy grasshopper flitting to & fro, enjoying life. Always out & about having fun biking with her dog, boating, looking for arrowheads, etc. Must be all that mountain air she gets where she lives. We even drank wine together after dinner. Enjoyed her company, the stories, & we exchanged contact info., hoping to camp with them again someday. They invited us to stay with them when we’re in the area.

The lady & I talked about how our hubbies always can’t find stuff around the house & the whole time camping. Everyday Mark asks me where the bowls, cups, dish scrubber & so and so. It’s been in their respective bins since day 1 of this trip. Even labelled the bins with a marker itemizing what’s in each of ‘em. And still I get the “Where’s the so & so?” Even my kids are the same thing,  asking me where their toothbrush is, their toys, water bottles, etc. , when I never touched or moved  them. I’m supposed to be the all knowing stuff finding woman. Must be a gender thing ‘cuz neighbor lady complains about the same thing.

For dinner, had the smoked salmon from my buddy, that I was saving to eat later, towards the end of our trip. Almost lost it that 1st week when the eldest left hatch open, & food bin shooted out, w/o us knowing  for a couple of miles. So I’ve been lugging it ever since, finding an opportune time to savor it.

Made garlic olive oil pasta & topped it with the salmon & it’s juices. Ahhh, that was awesome!  Hubby said it was a high quality cut of salmon. We all had second helpings & still had a little left to have with crackers tmrw.

8 pm Over wine, neighbor lady  & I talked about life , cooking, housework , & I ended up making my Wok chocolate cake since she wanted to learn how to do so. Then she had to leave to make dinner while my cake steam baked in my wok oven.

9 pm Chocolate cake is  served to everyone including neighbor dog. I cut slices, topped it with homemade blackberry jam from last week’s fruit picking & gave ‘em out in paper towels. We all ate it around the bonfire. Da bomb. I got lots of “so good” “&  you’re my favorite neighbors” & “just awesome”   Neighbor lady wanted the recipe so I gave her my recipe sheet. The son asked the mom why she didn’t bake cakes when they camped. I told him that now she can. He said he wanted it topped with blackberry jam too. Kids are cute.

Soaked my feet from the hot water i used for steaming the cake. Put peppermint castile soap & washed my dusty feet as I enjoyed the bonfire. Camping gets us so dusty. Dust on everything from the car seats to our plates & food. During the 1st week I was so bent on dusting everything, scrubbing dinghy faces all the time, brushing off  twigs  in the car & bins, & wiping with wipes the dashboard & everything dusty. Spent day & night trying to keep everything dust free. At the 2nd week, I realized it was pointless & gave up. I learned to live with forever dusty feet & grubby faces & nails. I figured a little dust won’t hurt me

So what if the kids kicked up dirt in my chocolate cake batter. It’s brown when it’s done anyways.

I requested bonfires almost every night so the boys have been nice & have gathered firewood around for bonfires ,  even driving into the forest, filling the rooftop carrier with hardwood. One of my  simple pleasures fulfilled. The hard wood burn so long which is why we like gathering them. I wrapped 4 russet potatoes in aluminum foil & threw them into the coals to bake. Didn’t eat ‘em but left it for making country fried potatoes tmrw. Mark said in the tent that  it was so soft. Almost got up from my zippered sleeping bag to butter one. Mmmm.

9:3O We all get ready for bed. I trip over a big rock & get new scrapes & bruises. I was reminded of my ATV crash down the ravine. I grumbled & “cursed” all the way to the tent , taking inventory of my wounds, with the useless flashlight.

We sleep under a star filled night. Waking up in the middle of the night for bathroom trips I didn’t mind, just to get a look at the stars. Hard to see them in lighted up cities. It’s called light pollution.

Aug 22 ( Saturday )To Little Crater Lake

7ish Out of bed. Thirsty & cold. Saw the red wine on the table. Poured me half a cup without thinking twice. Drank it with a slice of my choc cake. Can’t believe I drank wine before breakfast. There’s always a first!    Sat well with me though. Didnt get flushed & tipsy like I do with just a gulp. The silly things the mountain air does to me. LOL.

I want a shower!!!!!! Not liking being dinghy, though everyone’s in the same state. I scrub myself with wipes all the time till skin us raw My hair is now complainin. Jungle girl hair. I washed my hair two days ago so it’s time to wash it again.

8 am Mark makes country fried potatoes with the baked potatoes on coals from last night. Lotsa onions that made it yummy & satisfying.

10:40 On the road after saying goodbye to neighbors & taking pictures with them. Josiah asked if there was more salmon he could have . Later.

On the dirt road for a couple miles. Making the pressure cooker rattle like crazy.

Mark stops to  take scenic pictures of Snow capped Mount Shasta ,with the boys.

Mt. Rainer at the background

12:15 On the highway ready to stop for breakfast. 6 year old Zach is craving a juicy orange & green apple, after dreaming in his sleep picking apples last night.

12:30 At Hohn CG, Lassen Natl Forest eating brunch — Super Porridge , apples, & bananas.

Kids panning for gold in the creek while Mark rinses the dishes off.

1:50   On the road again for Little Crater. Trying to figure out if we need supplies for dinner & have to go to next town. Mark checking his map for logistics.

2 pm At RV CG for my shower. $5 shower. Had a long nice one. Mark insisted I need a princess shower & not their brusque showering in the lake kind. Squeaky clean again. “Gee, your hair smells terrific” now. All smiles 

2:40 Gassing up . Bought Ice cream for everyone . Kids dripping all over in the car so we stop in the woods for them to mess up eating. They take forever to eat ‘em. Mark & I downed ours in 2 mins. How!?

4 pm At CG. Got a campsite right on the lake. Only 18 sites & only 5 of them on the lake front. Lucky to get one on a saturday.

$14 per night. Small crater lake but serene. Kids immediately frolic. A meadow full of flying grasshoppers. They tried very hard to catch one. But they’re so quick. Josiah eventually caught an old man one, just limping along. Showed it to us & let it go.

Then they swam, played frisbee, & built Sand castles, while mommy read & daddy set up camp.

Chicken arroz caldo for dinner & cucumbers. Fruity oatmeal for dessert.

The boys played frisbee again in the meadow before sunset. This crater lake had dried lava on it’s bank.

Had our last bonfire for this camping Trip.

Zach started crying ‘cuz of his many ahwees. Blistered slipper wounds, bruises, sunburn, scrapes & cuts. A little daredevil that’s why. First & last in the water. Walking around shirtless in his shorts even when cold. He never compained when he was playing. But when idle, he suddenly is reminded Poor fella. Not only is he in pain, he us so dirty & dusty. I vigorously wipe his face with wipes, getting off grime. Goodness, he just bathed this afternoon. Applied bandages & socks on his feet & legs, then everyone kissed & consoled  him to sleep.

Mark gives me a 20 min body massage to end our trip & told me how he enjoyed everything & thanked me for all the good food I prepared & for taking good care of everyone. Made my ears flap $ clap

I can’t believe I’m so dusty again. My $5 shower that made me so clean is no more. Dust will always be a part of camping. I’ve learned to live with it on this trip. I learned that putting lotion or cream  on yourself will attract dust even more, and will just  make you sticky AND dusty. So no lotions entire trip. Not even sunscreen.

I’ve learned to coexist with bugs as well. The first few days, just like dust, I couldn’t stand them. I’d jump at every little critter that would come near me. But after seeing a thousand fly or pass by me ,I didn’t get startled anymore. Yellow jackets sitting beside me over lunch didn’t even make me flinch. They too wanted a little lunch is what i thought, & I just  let ‘em be.

While cooking or preparing dinner, a bug or two would almost always land into my pot or take a taste of my ingredients. I would just scoop it out & go on my merry way. After all, they were the permanent residents & I was just a visitor.

Mosquitoes are not the same. I avoid em like the plague. Fortunately, I didn’t meet many of ‘em. I was prepared with mosquito net & citronella.

Aug 23 (Sunday)

8 ish Finished the last page  of “The egg & I” , on our last day, at our last camping site. Yay!

9 ish On the road to Susanville.

Breakfast at Black Bear’s Diner.  Hearty old fashion breakfast.

Breakfast: Stack Pancakes. Steak, eggs, English muffins, fruits, bacon, sausages, country fried potatoes.

2 pm At Truckee for playground & sandwich break.

8 pm Home after long traffic. 10 hours on the road. Home sweet home.