Wed., July 11, Continued

I took a ride over a couple of nat’l forest roads this morning, hoping to find Duck Lake and maybe let Lady take a swim. Dogs aren’t permitted in Butte Lake although some people let their pets go in the water. I don’t want to violate rules I’ve been expected to enforce and maybe will be required in the future. I took a couple of morning shots of Butte Lake, and then took the road less traveled.




The road less traveled:


We couldn’t find Duck Lake, or maybe we didn’t go far enough. The road went through some beautiful areas though, and the road itself was so much better than the main gravel road to Butte Lake. I then drove over to Butte Creek, where there is a NFS Campground. It is free but the only amenity is a pit toilet. The campground is absolutely stunning – well spaced and shaded sites, and you can hear the sound of the creek from everywhere. I will try to load some of the pictures. Lady drank from the creek but the water is going too fast and the creek too shallow for her to go into it much less than to swim. Here are the NFS free camping (approx. 10 sites), and the site I liked best which is alongside a creek.






Lady seems to be enjoying just lazing outdoors all day long, as I am. She isn’t eating though, and the wildlife keeps coming around for her food dish. Wildlife here consists of “a chip, chip here and a chip chip there, and a here chip there chip, everywhere chipmunk”. I remembered though that the chipmunks greatly resemble the golden striped ground squirrel (or some such name), and the way you can tell is by whether the stripe goes all the way up the back and between their eyes. Most of these are probably ground squirrels. The picture isn't all that great but you might see the squirrel/chipmunk in the center, and that's guard dog "Killer" in back, ever alert.


Speaking of wildlife, there is a big bear that has been spotted getting closer and closer every night. I believe he even rattled a bear box, and someone supposedly got his picture. I’m keeping everything in the bear box at night, except I’m sure I have cosmetics in my tent. I’m not afraid of black bears but definitely would be scared if one came into my tent.

This is what I consider a portal to other worlds. I lie back in this awful anti-gravity chair, look through the circle of the treetops and into the universe.


The anti gravity chair has no lumbar support at all. It is difficult to lock and unlock the position, and more often than not I find myself lying back in the dental-chair-position and not being able to unlock the damn thing so I can get out of the chair.

In my driving around yesterday I found a vista lookout where I was able to get cell phone reception, so I will try to turn on my MiFi tomorrow and see if I can transmit this blog entry. (Got the signal for a few minutes but then it crapped out!)

Lassen camping trip: Mon-Wed, Jul. 9-11

Monday, July 9:
I left home at 7:30 am and ran into heavy traffic, but once I cleared the downtown area the traffic was ok. I stopped at a rest area next to an olive grove, and each tree I saw had thousands of small green olives, but I’m not sure when they harvest them.




The road back into the campground is in as bad a condition as it ever was. I met two gentlemen who are traveling separately but who keep meeting up with each other in national parks, since they originally met in the canyons of Utah. One is Mike and the other is Michael, one is from Florida and the other is from Louisiana. I can’t remember which is which so I will refer to them as FL and LA. I really enjoyed talking with them, and wish they had stayed at Butte Lake a bit longer. LA had an accent that was pure liquid silk, and he showed me how he had converted a Toyota 4WD vehicle – it looked like a Jeep but I didn’t get the model name – into a camper to live in. As he says, when he’s camping he is outside except to sleep, and that is the way I go tent camping.

He looked at my Highlander and made some suggestions as to how I could convert it in a similar manner. That would really be great for me, because it would allow me to camp outside regular campgrounds, in the National Forests or on BLM land, or even in the state and city parks I hear people talking about. I could also stay overnight while traveling at a Flying J or Cracker Barrel, and not advertise the fact that I am a woman traveling alone. I will have to think about this and look into the possibilities, as well as to find some one or company to do the major work.

Tuesday, Jul. 10
I drove to Manzanita Lake this morning, and found Mike at the entry station. He is the employee who comes out to the boonies to pick up the “Iron rangers”, the metal boxes that folks are supposed to put their fees into. He will be out to Butte Lake on Sunday, and promised to tell Sheryl and the others “hello” for me. I’d like to talk to Sheryl in particular about a possible future camp host position here. I’m not saying I’d want it, but since they house the hosts in the ranger station it would solve the problem of my lack of RV. The only way I would do it would be to get completely away from here, ALL DAY LONG, on my 2 days off. I might still make a round of the CG in the early morning and in the evening, just to keep the paperwork straight.

I met the Butte Lake hosts this morning as they were making their rounds before taking their 2nd day off this week. They are Andy and Ann, and we have had some great conversations in the meantime about volunteering. Last year they worked at Theodore Roosevelt NP in North Dakota and said they would never go back there again. It is surrounded by oil fields and tankers can be heard driving by 24 hrs a day. Then, many workers do 2 wks on and 2 wks off, and want to stay in the CG on their off weeks, but have no idea about camping rules, etiquette, etc. They pay double the going rental rates for their work lodging and are displacing locals who can’t afford those rates.

Wed., Jul. 11:
I spoke to Andy this morning as he brought me a load of firewood he had chopped. He told me he and Ann might not return to Butte Lake next year and the job would be open. The downside is that I couldn’t keep a dog in the housing. I’m anxious to talk to Sheryl about a lot of things that have changed. Staff and services have been dramatically reduced because of budget cuts, and I doubt if I could get a ranger out here to save my life.

These are a few photos of my tent setup:
Lady's side:

My side:


Full view:






I took four cameras with me, so you will undoubtedly see many more pictures once I sort it all out. I wrote some notes for the blog in Word while at camp, but they need a lot of work. So watch for the next installment.

The heat goes on!

It gets worse by the day. I'm going to try to leave REALLY early in the morning so I can fool around and do some visiting before I go pick out a campsite. The sooner I get away from Sacramento the better I will like it. I think I need to figure out a different place to be next summer, like maybe camped at 7500' in elevation!

I stopped by Jeannie's today and got to get in on a Skype call to Ara. She sounds happy and busy, with a social life I can barely remember the likes of when I was her age. Those were the days, my friend!

I shopped for last minute items and topped off the fuel tank. I wasn't gone more than a couple of hours, but came back to a big accident on the living room floor. The poor dog - don't know if it's the heat or what. I'm not feeding her all that much during this heatwave, and I am making lots of water available. At least she didn't go on one of the throw rugs, which I would have expected her to do - anything to make more work for me. As it was I cleaned it up fairly quickly although I held my breath longer than an Olympic swimmer!

Jeannie was cleaning out their garage this morning and found my blue chaise lounge. I will retrieve it when I get back from Lassen, but I think I will still keep my anti-gravity chair.

This will be my last post for a week or so. I haven't decided whether or not to take my computer with me, as to get an internet connection is bound to be a hassle. I might do it so I can keep a journal in Word of events, if any are noteworthy.

Have a good week.

Looking back at old blog posts

Last night I read my old posts from the several months in 2009 when I worked as a camp host at Lassen NP. I really love that park and that campground, but I mostly worked 7 days a week because there was no one to cover for me if I left. In reading the entries I can see my mood and outlook going down over the time I was there, and partly that was because I didn't take my 2 days a week and go exploring. Even when I drove the 100 mile round trip to Susanville or Burney for supplies, I sandwiched the trips into my work day.

I met some very wonderful people, both co-workers and campers. I met some really crappy campers, and it is amazing when you think of how you act, speak, and treat others can have such an influence on how they feel. I always tried to be friendly and cheerful, and I think I did well at that, but those few cheating, lying, and thieving campers and their delinquent kids really had a negative effect on me.

It will be interesting to go back there now as a regular camper, and I hope I meet some of the really friendly and nice folks that I know will be there.

My son Steve came over today to fix a minor plumbing problem with the drain pipe, and then packed the camping gear in the back of my Highlander. Later I looked over my list and started crossing out the items that were already in the car and realized I had no idea where my Coleman stove or lantern were. I found the lantern in the house, and after about 5 searches in the shed I finally found the stove. There are still some things I need to pack, as well as last minute items to buy tomorrow.

I had planned to pack clothing for both warm and cool weather but a check of the temps at Butte Lake show that it is about the same as here in Sac - 90's during the day and 50's overnight. It's hard to believe that 6000 ft elevation wouldn't make more of a difference. I won't feel the need to be driving around all the time and doing things, and look forward to relaxing and trying to stay cool. I know Lady will be happier.

Car Wash; Food for Camping

I don't know what a lot of processed food will do to me because I certainly bought a lot of food that I haven't eaten in years, if ever. But for a week I think I can live on packaged and canned foods. They are things I can cook up in one pot, and hopefully I won't have to deal with leftovers. Remember the Underwood Deviled Ham in the little tin? Well I did look at the label and nearly choked on the percentage of fat, but I did buy the deviled chicken spread to go on Wheat Thins. For breakfast I will have Raisin Bran, and I nearly got to the checkout without passing the Pop Tarts!

On the way home I stopped at the Shell car wash. I had used some Bounce dryer sheets yesterday to attack some of the bugs that were getting a free ride, and got most of them off. The car was actually so dirty I could barely tell what was still there. I don't normally like automatic car washes. Back in New York, the Hess station where I usually bought gas had a car wash, and you could just have it added to your card when purchasing gas. The receipt came out with a code that you punched in at the wash station, and you got a fairly decent car wash.

This thing was different - you pay at the wash with a card or cash. There were 3 options, the most costly and the most stuff done to your car cost $9.99, so I put in a $10 bill. It kept telling me to push the selection key, but I couldn't get it to "select". I alternated between pushing the key and also the "push button for assistance" option, with no results. I then tried selecting the $7.99 deluxe wash and it worked, plus it sounded like I hit 3 cherries on a slot machine when the quarters in change came tumbling down.

I have to say that it isn't really a very good wash and I'm glad I didn't spend $9.99 for it, but it got rid of a lot of the road dust from Montana, Idaho & Oregon road construction. Now I need to vacuum and empty everything out so I can begin to pack for camping. A last minute run to the store on Sunday for milk, 1/2 & 1/2, ice and beer will complete the preparations, and all I have to do is leave on Monday and enjoy. You might hear me singing along with Willie - "On the Road Again".

Gotta quit spending money!

I have been looking for some type of anti-gravity chair, or even a plain old webbed lounge chair. This morning's trip was to Target, and they had nothing. I think all the stores get stock in the early season and when it's gone, it's gone. My last resort was to Costco, and I found the last anti-gravity chair.

Not content with just getting what I went in there for, I walked past the cameras and bought a new digital for a really low price. I think this model must be phasing out because they are priced low at online stores as well, but I don't mind getting other than the latest and greatest product as the newer & later it is the harder it is to figure out.

I got my Nikon Coolpix around 2007 or 2008, and have noticed that it is sluggish lately. I wanted a digital with a viewfinder, and found the Canon Powershot A1200. After great difficulty getting it out of the packaging, and anyone who shops at Costco will know what I mean, I opened the instruction book and proceeded with the first steps to getting it ready for picture-taking. I'd complain about the instruction book, but then I notice I complain about ALL instruction books so it is possible that it is me! I still wish they would skip some of the ridiculous icons, but this camera seems to have a mix of easy & almost impossible to figure out symbols. The viewfinder window is smaller than the windows on both my film cameras, but I guess I can get used to it though I would prefer it to be just a bit larger.

Here is my first attempt to take pictures with the camera. As anyone familiar with my blog knows, I love maps! I have always wanted some wall maps that I can look at and dream of near and far away places. I recently found a two-pack of laminated wall maps - one of the United States and the other of the World. They are hanging on the wall in my spare room.





At this time of day it is nearly impossible to get a good photo in that room because of the light coming in the window, and the fact that the maps are laminated makes them almost too shiny to photograph well. But hey, it's my first effort with a new and complicated piece of equipment. I haven't been able to figure out how to get the wrist strap attaches to the camera, and the pictures + words of instruction leave me totally in the dark! I've never had a problem attaching a wrist strap to all the cameras I've owned in my life, so why do they make this one so difficult?

New blog

No, not mine, but "Little Gypsy's On the Road Again". I wish my granddaughter well in keeping a record of her journeys, and I know she will soon surpass me.

My sister Amy held a pool party & cook-out at her house today. I didn't go in the pool, and neither did Lady although I wondered if she would try.





My digital camera was giving me trouble so I took most of the pictures with a film camera. I'll post them when I finish the roll and get the photos developed.

I'm cutting this post short because I'm tired and my house was still pretty hot when I got home. Later -