Odds and Ends and A Picture Tour

News from Camp Webegone

Mid September 2015

Rich and I went on numerous hikes this summer. Two close by were to Personany Fall

Personany Falls

and Takelma Gorge

 

Takelma Drive

Last year we saw a momma bear and her cub drinking from this trough. This year no bears just bear poop.

Trough

 Over 1000 photos were taken this summer. Here are a few more:

Little Thief

Water Nymph

Camp Jackrabbit

Avenue of Stones

Butterfly

 Cheryl

Bloomin' June, July and August

Cheryl's News from Camp Webegone

September 4, 2015

Well. Evidently there is more to blooms in the forest than just rain, 'cause the summer blooms were scanty. The extreme heat of June may have had an impact. So, blah, blah, blah, here is a sampling of the summer blooms at Camp Webegone.

Cheryl

 

Yellow Flower

Wood Rose

Twin Flower

Timble Berry

Bleeding Heart

Indian Pipe

Lavender Daisy

Paint Brush

Pink Flower

Pink Monkey

White Flower

Crescent Ridge Fire Update

Weather Update from Camp Webegone

9 August - 27 August
 

High: 91.0
Low: 45.5
Humidity: 27%-79%
Rain: Zip

Cheryl's News from Camp Webegone

August 21, 2015

Well, today is the clearest, smoke free day Rich and I have had in about a month. What a relief!

Fires

Yesterday we traveled up to Crater Lake so that we could view the Crescent Ridge Fire. The cinder cone in the picture is called Red Cone. Thanks to all this, we have been learning lots of fire lingo and information. (More than we ever really want to know.)

The Crescent Ridge fire in its infancy was about 30 acres. Today it is over eight thousand acres. So, how come the fire got so large? How come the fire fighters have not been able to contain the fire? 

Well, those are a deep questions, and the answers involve the philosophy of the National Park Service on whose property the fire is burning. Since the fire was started by lightening, the National Park Service philosophy is that the fire is a natural process that should be left to burn undeterred - as long as the fire is not threatening any homes. That means no dropping of flame retardant, no dropping of water, no bulldozing a wide fire line. The fire fighters can only hand-dig a ditch line around a perimeter in an effort to contain the blaze. Hence the growth of the fire from 30 to eight thousand acres.

The tourist industry in the area has been impacted too. When Rich and I were at Crater Lake, the parking lots were about 1/8^th full. Usually at this time of year, you are lucky to fine a spot. Lunch at Beckies Restaurant Wednesday, we were one of four tables being served. Again, you usually have to wait in line for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The ice cream shop is now closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Rich and I will be doing our small part to help, and we plan to eat at Beckies one time a week until we leave.

There are some positive aspects. The lodge pole pine tree (the predominant tree in the fire area), their pine cones only open up and drop their seeds under extreme heat or when exposed to a fire. Such is the variety of nature. 

And we have seen some spectacular sunsets and a few reddish sunrises.

Sunset

Cheryl

Camp sounds

Rich's News From Camp WeBegone

In our everyday lives, there is sound all around us. The background noise of life. We don't even notice it.

Having now the luxury of time, I often contemplate the variety of sounds we experience here. Earlier today Jay and Cheryl heard a Nuthatch (which I missed). We sat for hours listening to the baby Dippers as they called out for the insects presented by their parent. 

Just sitting here now, a fly buzzes by, and there's a yellow jacket. Plus, high overhead the echoing noise of a helicopter heading out on its way to a fire. 

In the distance, a Raven awk awk awks. And I ponder the many sounds these birds have in their repertoire. - Did you know birds have two voice boxes? 

Now a plane - also probably on fire duty - rushes by. And later, as I quiet my mind, I notice the constant background rush of the Rogue as it flows through a narrow part of the river. A lively chatter, mixed with a whisper of wind in the tree tops.

And there are familiar sounds as well, like the clank of the bicycle as Cheryl goes on a short ride.

Oh, and ah yes! the sounds of meals being prepared. Familiar metallic sounds and the pouring of water. We have gravel roads here, and the crunch of tires and of feet across the gravel is a distinct sound - and one that Mimi usually hears before we do! 

And of course the Mimi sounds. Her mew is quiet, and the reward of a purr when we pick her up or pet her in the morning.

Hwy 62 is a half mile away, so we seldom hear highway noises here. But just now comes the screech of tires on the pavement, echoing all of the way here. Civilization mixed with nature.
Much as is the sounds the squirrels nipping pine cones that fall thump thump to the earth or that clang down on the car.

All of these sounds remind me of the diversity of this forest. Of the great range of sounds we hear here. Of how the trees sometimes crackle in the morning as the sun calls the water to come up to the top. Of the occasional crash of a falling tree - there is a distinct crack crack crack as the trunk breaks and the breaking of limbs and the rumble as it hits the ground. Of how sometimes, with weather changes, we get a stillness - mostly the lack of insect sounds. This stillness might be broken by a clap of thunder, and if lucky the rain fall on our tarps car and tents.

Life here is simple and mostly unhurried. Simplicity allows us these peaceful moment, where we can listen and appreciate this sound-filled life. The rhythm of morning chores. With the chopping of wood and the toting of water comes a zen feeling. 

The only thing that interferes with this feeling is the mind when it gets on with its habit of worry, fear, planning, and guilt - which, once we are aware of it, we can thank it for its input and go back to sitting or reading.

Fritz Perls said that as humans, we have two tasks: doing and being. Our culture supports and expects the doing, but it is not so receptive to the being. And, he concludes, this state of affairs creates human doings rather than human beings.

Be well today. Enjoy the sounds around you.

Rich

July Visitors

Weather Update for 19 July – 25 July 2015

High Temp: 92.3

Low Temp: 42.3

Humidity: 94% - 27%

Rain: Zip

Cheryl's News from Camp Webegone

Frank and Jeri Ann

Rich and I were blessed in July with four groups of visitors; two visits with family and two with friends. The first July visitors were my cousin, Jeri Ann, and her husband Frank. Their home is in Virginia, and approximately every other summer they come out west and visit family. Camp Webegone was sorta on their way from California as they headed to Salem, Oregon. During their four-hour visit, we packed short viewings of Natural Bridge and the Rogue Gorge and lunch at Beckies.

The next visitor was my cousin Howard, who stopped by for an evening visit. We shared stories and childhood memories while sitting around the campfire. And as night falls, I got a sense of the ancient rhythms of our tribal ancestors, of the journey of their lives. That was an inspiring night.

Nancy and Sandy

Nancy and Sandy visited for three nights as they made the journey from Portland to California. They stayed at the Prospect Inn, located in the nearby town. Theirs was a leisurely visit filled with lots of sitting and chatting - an activity that Rich and I experience an awful deficiency of. We do enjoy our own company, but it is wonderful to have fresh conversation, new input, and unheard ideas. On a beautiful sunny day, the four of us  drove to view Crater Lake. For some folks, Crater Lake is just a lake. For others, the lake is a stunning beauty that touches the soul. It is always amazing to me to watch those that it touches.

Steve and Nina

Our final July visitors were Steve and Nina from Washington. They camped in Site 12 (my favorite) for three nights. The focus of their visit was rejuvenation - embracing the peace and quiet of nature, listening to the songs of the Rogue River, mixed with lots of hiking.

It was a wonderful month of fun and friendship. Rich and I were truly blessed and enriched by our July visitors.

Cheryl

First Visitors

Weather Highlights

7 June – 13 June

High Temp: 86.4

Low Temp: 44.6

Humidity: 33% - 91%

Rain: Trace

Wind Gust: Unknown

Cheryl's News from Camp Webegone

Friday, June 12, as Rich and I return to camp from cleaning pit toilets and vacated campsites, we are greeted by Lisa and Jim, who are staying at the Prospect Inn for a few days. A wonderful surprise.

Even better, they brought a little bit of heaven with them: strawberries and raspberries from their garden. All the fresh fruit available here is stuff brought up from California. We were so spoiled living in Portland, with access to local produce. 

Sigh. Another year without hood strawberries :(

Living at Natural Bridge is a good trade though. The Natural Bridge area is so gorgeous, photos do not really do it justice. With Lisa and Jim here, Rich and I enjoyed playing tour guide and sharing the sights of Natural Bridge, The Rouge Gorge and a meal at Beckie's.

Sunday, we all traveled to Ashland to watch the play Cabaret at the Cabaret Theater. The theater is small, seating about 100 and is cabaret style: tables and chairs. You can order food and drinks, too. And it was a lively and well-acted play. 

The trip to Ashlund is a long one, but it was pleasant and - for me - inspiring. I do love the theatre. And I'm still singing Cabaret several days later as I pen this down.

*

PS: We love visitors! Do visit if you can. Drop us an email or text (we do check emails and texts at least one a week) if you plan to come down so we stay close to camp. Or be spontaneous. But either way, keep in mind, the first Tuesday of each month, we drive to Medford and are gone for most of the day.

Perceptions of Time

Weather Report for 31 May – 6 June

High Temperature: 79.2

Low: 41.7

Humidity: High, 92%. Low, 35 %

Rainfall: .08

Wind gust: unknown. Gauge not set up yet.

 

Rich's New from Camp Webegone

Each time I drive to Prospect, there is a transition that happens when I start driving on Hwy 62. When entering the highway, I must get up to speed with the traffic - which is at least 60 miles an hour. As I speed up, nearing 40 I start to notice it feels really fast. 

That feeling reminds me of coming back from Haiti, which I describe as getting on an on-ramp to a freeway where everyone is going 70 and I am going 25. So it happens here too.

 

Bigfoot Rich

The ability to adapt comes in rapidly. And after a few minutes of driving at 60, it feels normal. And I realize that I have once again entered a new perception of normal. I had though 40 was fast, but now I am traveling 60, and it's normal (and it's still too slow for some of the other travelers on the road).

In Clinic I often would talk about the dance that massage therapists need to do with time. New students often have difficulty adapting to doing a massage in an hour. But doing so is necessary in our culture built around Industrial timeframes.  

The massage therapist must live in Industrial time yet be able to move into what I call organic time in order to do good therapy. Allowing the muscle to let go is an organic process, and the good therapist can monitor the session time and also go into the zone that is organic time. It is all perception.

Meditation takes you into organic time. Those moments in meditation when you are absolutely in the moment. Those beautiful, wonderful moments. It too is a perception.  

But because it is all perception, the moment you notice it, you are not doing it any more. You can intend it to happen, but you cannot make it happen. That too is perception.

So last night, sitting at the fire lost in the moment of making fire and the process of keeping it flaming, Cheryl asks what I am thinking. I was not thinking that I was in a Fire moment. But I was. It is a relaxing place. 

Perception of time changes often here in camp. Our morning routine is a structure that we embrace. And in the structured routine, we enter into a kind of trance. A trance we create that helps us get things done. And the time here seems to evaporate, and we suddenly find ourselves at the end of the day, and just how did that happen without us noticing, and what day is it anyway?

I think living in Industrial time is very stressful. Part of that stress is about preparing for the future, a preparation often driven by fear. Will I have enough resources (money fuel food etc.) to survive? What will happen to my family?

That is one end of the spectrum. The other end is thinking about time from the perspective of aging. Listening to someone on radio talk about being in his 70s and noting that for someone in their 20s, their perception of their life is ahead. They have 60 years ahead (they hope) and just 20 behind. The 70 year old has 20 ahead (they really hope) and 70 behind. So naturally the focus shifts. 

And how did I get here so fast? And it was fast and now 20 years seems like it is rushing forward....Time keeps on slippin slippin into the future...

But that is all it is...a perception....

OOPS!

Cheryl's News From Camp Webegone

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Our Backyard

When you're camping, cooking is a lot more work than usual, so you tend to end up doing a lot of simple, go-to meal types. Which is fine when you're camping for a couple of days or even weeks. But it gets more than just a little old when you're camping for a few months. 

Well, this summer Rich and I decided to expand our dinner menu options. Which is a great and tasty idea. But (there's  always a 'but', isn't there?) it also requires more work on my part. 

Still, it feels like a good trade off. A happy tummy and taste buds, all  in exchange for at least 30 minutes of extra cooking prep. 

That's the plan, anyways. And so our saga begins.

It starts with our first grocery shopping and errand trip to Medford. Which is a 90 minute drive from camp. We leave at 10 am, do our shopping, and then arrive back at camp about 5 pm - way too long a day. 

Then it's time to put all the food away and.....well, it was a great idea to expand our dinner menu, sure. However I, we, did not take into consideration storage. In particular, very limited freezer space. Very limited freezer space and a whole bunch of meat we purchased.

Oops! 

Long story short, with a lot of freezer organizing, a little juggling, and judicious eating choices, I think we'll be okay. Whew.

Color me lesson learned. Rich and I are changing how we grocery shop in the future. We will still be driving to Medford one time a month, but no more going there regularly. No more regular all-day shopping trips. Instead, our regular grocery journey will be driving the much simpler 30+ miles to Shady Cove to shop for meat and veggies there. 

Not only will this save our sanity, we'll be saving money on gas and lowering our carbon footprint. Really, we should have realized and been doing this all along. But we are slow learners. 

The Theme: Minor Disasters

(Editor's Note: no date included on this one, but I'm guessing it's from the 22nd-24th. Enjoy!)

Rich's News From Camp Webegone 2015

At last, we set off on our return to camp hosting at Natural Bridge. However, a series of minor problems has been the theme of our journey. 

First, the Hitch wheel was on the pavement and I could not move the trailer until I jacked up the pickup hitch. That one wasn't too big a deal, but it continues...

Second, the black water tank did not empty. And it still has not. Theory is, it is blocked by paper... The solution? Wait 'til it clears, or get a honey bucket to suck it out....

Third, the electric lift for the hitch stopped and would not come back on.... Then it did... No idea why.... 

Fourth, same dance with the refrigerator (although this one might be due to user error, as the fridge does not work according to its directions, so we may have simply forgotten our old steps to get it running).

Fifth, the generator won't start. This one is not minor, to say the least. Without it, we would have batteries for a few days, but after that: no electricity, no water pump, etc. 

So, I get to work on the generator. And I do get it to start, but it will only run for a few minutes. Theory: clogged filter or carburetor. Unfortunately, no place to work with it in the rain... Solution: a trip to Medford to fix it. We head over, but no one wants to work on it as it is hard to find parts.... Final solution: buy a Honda generator (which I should have done in the first place....) Will fix the other generator on some lazy sunny afternoon. 

Sixth, the heater in trailer does not start.... Then it does.... And had the same dance with the water pump. etc. etc. 

As tough as it sounds, though, through it all, we experience the simple joy of being here in our summer hang-out. To us, all these problems seem just minor bumps in the road. We will get through.

In other news, our first days are very very wet. But it is now dry, and we are back in the the swing of it all. In many ways, it feels like we never left. 

We are meeting some familiar campers, and some newcomers. There was a camper who is an accomplished musician, and a German couple joined us as we listened to the musician and sang along. We all had lots of fun singing old country songs. - Just one of those spontaneous moments strangers can create.

And we went a-visiting: to our favorite tree, and to Natural Bridge, and to the trail, and to the library (where we order an apple pie from the librarian....) It is indeed good to be home. 

Yes, this is home now, for us. Which has created some interesting conversations. "Where are you from?" they ask. 

Hmmm. 

"Well, we sold my house, and we're living in our trailer. I guess wherever my trailer is is where I am from." 

Funny how things change.

Rich.

PS: Since we went a-visiting, here is a video of one our favorite spots on the Rouge River.

 

An Unexpected Ending Adventure

NEWS FROM CAMP WEBEGONE

It's been quite a past four months, in this trial run for our big year-long camp-hosting journey in 2015, but this first leg is at last coming to a close. However, as we begin gearing up for the last week of the our first camp hosting effort, we're in for a surprise.

CHERYL'S NEWS

On morning rounds one day, I noticed a cat wandering around at one of the campsites. 

After asking around if someone had lost a cat, and finding none, I eventually realized that the cat had been abandoned in the campground. Julianna was staying with us at the time and the three of us tried to rescue the cat. 

But, since our site is away from the rest of the camp, the cat was hanging around where there was the most food debris, far from us, so we were not able to rescue the cat ourselves. 

Eventually, though, one of the campers befriended the cat and brought her to our site.

She was very thin and very friendly. When she arrived, she was so hungry that she quickly nabbed and swallowed whole - without tasting - a piece of pineapple, moving too quick for Rich to respond. 

Little Podunk is what we called her. She obviously wasn't feral, but used to being around humans. 

Rich and I thought she was pregnant, as her teats were developed. Rich "the great hunter" stalked her to her lair in the woods, and there he discovered some four-week-old kittens, or thereabouts. Huge emotional upset for me.

So, now we have a cat and three kittens to rescue. First step: accustom the three kittens to us in the short time before we leave, so we can rescue them before then. One of the kittens, a dark calico, is particularly wary of us, and we know that we may not be able to rescue her in time. 

But, one step at a time. 

Rich and I sit at their lair for about an hour 2-3 times each day. During this process Little Podunk moved the kittens. So, we have to start over. Again, Rich "the great hunter" discovers the lair. We are not going to be able to get close to this one. The kittens are now a week older and easier to engage. The light calico is the most adventurous.

After watching me for a while, she wanders over close, though not close enough to touch - daring the big beast. Then circled back to momma. The next day she sat under my chair for a short time. 

I found a likely stick to entice them to play. They were not the least interested in string, though Little Podunk would play with it. So we played stick with them for a couple days. 

Then came the day to rescue them. In the morning I am able to rescue the light calico, receiving only a few scratches. With Rich's help we put her in a backpack, and I took her to the trailer. In the afternoon I am able to rescue the tabby kitten while playing stick with him. The dark calico will not come near us at all now. The next day, Thursday, we take Little Podunk, light calico and the tabby to a no-kill shelter in Medford. We cry.

After rescuing the tabby kitten, we did not see the dark calico. It has been over 24 hours and we wondered if the kitten became a snack for one of the other creatures that live in the area. 

Friday comes, we are packed and ready to head out to La Pine. I suggest we go to the lair and bit farewell to the unrescued kitten. We both have very heavy hearts and liquid eyes. As we approach the lair, Rich says he sees her! Joy, hope, but also despair. Because there is still the possibility that we will not be able to rescue her. 

It is obvious that she will not come close to us. We stay another day and wonder just how many days it will take to rescue this little shy one.

RICH'S NEWS

So now we had this very reluctant kitten, and one of the skills I learned in Haiti was how to trap a particular annoying mouse who was waking me at night knocking stuff off my shelves. This mouse was partial to popcorn kernels, so I put some in a metal bowl, put that in a basin, put a board over the top with just enough room for the mouse to get in and waited with a string attached to simply pull it over the basin. 

Peace Corps has lasting impact. 

Using this same technique I rigged a small cat carrier my brother gave us, putting food inside and a few nibbles leading to the carrier and string attached to the door. Knowing the kitten was VERY hungry, we spent Saturday morning waiting for her to get up the courage to go into the carrier. 

It took some enticing with food and the passage of time, but eventually the kitten did enter the carrier, and Cheryl pulled the door shut. I had taken a walk after my morning sit with string in hand, and when I returned, found Cheryl has rescued the kitten and is walking to our trailer with carrier in hand. We were excited, relieved and trying to sort the rest of the emotions this rescue had brought to us.

CHERYL'S NEWS

Saturday Morning

Sitting in a camp chair about seven yards away from the carrier with string in hand, playing the waiting game, asking for help from the universe, the kitten approaches the carrier again. This time she does not glance my way and fully enters the carrier. To this day I do not know how I walked the yards to the carrier and kept the string taut so the door stayed closed. When I closed the carrier door, the kitten launched herself at the door. When I got there she was tooth and claw at the door. 

But I knew that reuniting her with her momma will ease her trauma. Rich and I eat lunch and then drive to the cat shelter, delivering the last kitten. All three kittens and their momma now safely rescued. 

We then drive to La Pine. It was an exhausting, emotional two weeks with which to end our stay at Camp Webegone. Whew!

Close Encounters of the Black Bear Kind

CHERYL'S NEWS FROM CAMP WEBEGONE

**Wednesday, September 17, 2014**

One day, while we were walking through a decommissioned campground in search of a nearby hot springs, Rich notices a bear coming down a trail, just a ways off to the left of where we are walking. 

It's a bear cub, and it's playfully bounding to some destination or other. A real cutey. Shortly afterwards, the cub's momma comes into view. 

This is my first bear sighting ever. 

They are magnificent beasts in their natural environment. Rich has had many sightings - he thinks about ten. He is very calm around them. Not me.

The destination of the two bears was for water. There was an old horse-watering-trough up there, and the spigot leaked water on the ground.

Since it is a momma and cub, I tell Rich we should quickly head on our way - yes, I was being a real Nervous Nelly. I get my way, and we abandon the hunt for the hot springs. Walking back, we make lots and lots of noise.

For me, this bear sighting will be a lasting memory.

 (Here is a photo from Paulina Falls, near the area of the black bear encounter.)

Geriatric Gypsies At Work

CHERYL'S NEWS FROM CAMP WEBEGONE

The Gypsy Mobile Maintenance Vehicles

Ready to Roll

Rich and I have enjoyed our volunteer service work at Natural Bridge Campground. On average we each work about 2-3 hours each day. On our two days off each week we do evening rounds, but only to check that everyone in camp has paid. We have looked at the work aspect as a service we are providing to the campers. It is much easier to clean pit toilet “blow outs” when it is a service you are providing, and not a task you are being paid for.

Cheryl, hazmat-ready to clean up a “blow out” at a pit toilet.

The best part of the work is the campers we have met. Most are from the Medford area. Many attended Grants Pass High School around the time Rich was a student there. A handful of campers were from the Portland Metro area, one couple lives about a mile and a half as the crow flies from our Portland home.

Rich and I were inspired by one extended family, sons and daughters of an aging father, who came with their spouses. Twice they brought their aging father, who has Parkinsons and a bit of dementia, up to fish and camp. Natural Bridge Campground is one of his favorite places to fish.

The eldest campers to come were in their nineties. That is not a typo. As they aged they modified their camping experience from backpacking and hiking to a Westfalia camper van and less strenuous 2-3 mile hikes. They are a good role model for us and a true inspiration.

The youngest camper was six weeks old. The second youngest were two month old twins. I doubt I would choose to camp with a six-week-old, and two month-old twins, never. I am such a wimp.

Our Camp

NEWS FROM CAMP WEBEGONE

In case you were wondering what Camp Webegone looked like.

A panorama view.

Master bedroom. 

Safe House. Safe from mosquitoes, yellow jackets and bald-faced hornets.

Healing Arts Tent, Meditation Space and Exercise Room.

A Story in Pictures - Creatures And Insects

CHERYL'S NEWS FROM CAMP WEBEGONE