Update August 19-25, 2009

I'm doing laundry at a local campground that has wi-fi, and because I'm Park Service they aren't charging me for it. Wonderful people and a very nice campground.

Wednesday, August 19 (2nd Post today)
I am back at the campground after a nice day off. I didn’t even get out of my truck when a camper came up wanting to pay for his site with a credit card, which might give you an indication of why I needed to get away for a few hours. I will make the second round of the campground this evening just to make sure I have everyone who came in today, but for the record it is my day off and I’m not going to worry about anything.

The fire is winding down and yesterday I said goodbye to Brandon from BLM (one of the two who kept me informed of the progress) and today I said goodbye to Jody from the Forest Service. This morning the crew from Kings Canyon-Sequoia left, so all the excitement is going as well. One of the firemen said they carried packs that weighed 38#, plus the tool they carry is 7#. There were a lot of requests made by various crews for Gold Bond powder, Ibuprofin, and moleskin. Sounds like a bunch of long distance backpackers, among whom Ibuprofin is known as “Vitamin I”.

I drove the 100 miles round trip to Burney today and was able to finally get an internet connection. I updated the blog and worked a bit with my email, although I will never be able to catch up on all the blogs I missed this summer. I was also able to reach the manufacturer of Arctic Fox trailers and truck campers, and asked them to send me a brochure of their products. I may be able to swing by their mfg plant which is in eastern Oregon, on my way to the east in September.

I had planned to do laundry but the Laundromat in Burney is closed on Wednesdays, so I’ll be washing the uniform shirts by hand again. I visited the vet’s office to get heartworm preventive for Lady, and also to get her the vaccinations she is due at the end of the month. The doctor wasn’t there, so the vaccinations will be a month or so late unless I need to go back to Burney for some reason. I was able to leave the dog at the hospital in air conditioned comfort while I did my errands. It was so nice not to have to worry about leaving her in the truck, and it would have been too hot today to leave her anyway, so I wouldn’t have gotten an anything done.

I talked to my daughter - she & Donald & kids will be here, along with Steve & Megan, a week from this Friday. Steve will stay the weekend, and Jeannie will remain a few days into the following week. The gravel road has had some work done on it and is much easier to drive on, so I asked her to let Joe & Sarah know in case they can make it. If so, I will rent an adjacent campsite for the weekend. It will be the last time I see them until next year.

One more thing - the effects of the fire can been seen along the way I traveled today. It looks devastated in some places, but within a year or so will come back strong. I would think that is how we have a beautiful though small grove of aspens on the way into the campground. They are just getting ready to change color.

Thursday, August 20:
I feel much better today, even though I believe a camper came in late last night and left early this morning without paying. Camp hosting has certainly allowed me to see the best and the worst of people, and it is sometimes disheartening to know that dishonesty is so prevalent.

I was so tired yesterday evening that I went to bed early, shortly after 8:00 p.m. I’ve been getting so dehydrated from the campfire and it was nice waking up without a headache this morning.

Saturday, August 22:
Camping season is dwindling down now and while some of the other campgrounds may have a lot more visitors, Butte Lake is the best place to be right now if you don’t like crowded spaces. The dust factor is about the worst part of the whole place and there is no fix for that.

Monday, August 24:
I’ve decided that Sep. 9 will be my last day to work, and I will pull out the morning of the 10th. That should allow me to get to Burns, Oregon before the weekend, and I’ll have Les Schwab check the tires on my 5th wheel. I would like to use the Pressure Pro monitoring system, but so far I can’t find a place to put the monitor. Vehicle dashboards seem to be designed so that you don’t have enough space to place things securely. Also, I have one outlet to plug into, so I bought an adaptor which has never worked properly, and I usually just go with the GPS plugged in and the Pressure Pro monitor resides inside the console. What a waste of money that was! I wish I hadn’t taken so seriously all the advice about the things I had to have, and all the things I should constantly check on in order to drive safely. I didn’t check my tire pressures every day when I just drove a Jeep, and I don’t do it now.