Video of Favorite Spot on the Rogue River - 2016 View

Rogue River 2016

Cheryl's News from Camp Webegone
Friday, June 10, 2016

Rogue River by Natural Bridge

With a rainy winter and a moderate amount of snow (below average though), the Rogue River is very full with lots of ruckus, rushing, turbulent water.

Rogue River by the footbridge 2016

The photo I took last year of this spot, the large rock was not covered with water.

Weather Update: We have had a little bit of everything. A few days of extreme heat, humidity and mosquitoes. I was miserable and began to question why I was volunteering at Natural Bridge Campground. That passed and was followed by a one-and-a-half to two hour thunderstorm that included lightening, rain and hail. No mosquitoes though. Yeah! My bites have bites. Today we are chasing sunny spots to warm up. The high will be about 63 degrees. Tomorrow morning should be in the high 30's. Extreme heat to extreme cold. Think I'll stay in the trailer tomorrow morning. One of the challenges and joys of Camp Webegone is experiencing the weather first hand. A sunny warm day is indeed a great joy.

Our First Week in Paradise

Cheryl's News from Camp Webegone

June 3, 2016

Weather: Sunny and warm each day

White Iris

May is the time of the white flowers. In the tree canopy, dozens of dogwood trees are in full bloom. Vanilla leaf blooms cover a large part of the campground. False solomon seal blooms dot the forest floor. There are hundreds of white iris is bloom. There is the odd bit of color in bloom, three calypso orchids. 

Calypso Orchid

Warm sunny days, cool nights, vistas of flowers in bloom and dappled forest light. We are in paradise.

Cheryl's News from LaPine, Oregon
May 24, 2016

A brief update to let you all know our whereabouts for the summer.

Rich, Mimi and I will arrive at Natural Bridge Campground in southern Oregon Wednesday, May 25, 2016.

We will be staying at Natural Bridge until the end of September, October 1 at the latest.

Visitors welcome and greatly appreciated. If you plan to visit, give us a heads up.

Mimi camping in LaPine. She hates the harness!

Cheryl's News enroute to Camp Webegone

May 24, 2016

Lava River Cave, Bend/Sunriver area

Rich, Cheryl and Mimi enroute to their summer camp at Natural Bridge stopped and camped for seven days of vacation in LaPine, Oregon. After resting for a few days they were ready for an adventure and visited the nearby Lava River Cave.

Rich descending into Lava River Cave

There really are no adequate adjectives to describe the cave. AMAZING, amazing, amazing is as close as it gets. The cave is just short of a mile long. A tiny section at the end of the cave is about four feet in height. A small section in the middle is about five and a half feet in height. The rest of the cave is 58' in height. At it's widest, 48'. At no point could I touch both sides of the cave.

Cave wall

And DARK. No light what so ever. Rich and I were very lucky. For about 20 minutes or so we were the only folks in the cave. We turned off our flashlight and lantern, twice. Standing beside each other I could not discern even a tiny speck of Rich. Dark. Standing in total darkness in the womb of mother earth, we listen to drops of water falling to the cave floor. Drips behind us, in front of us, beside us, and one discordant drip landing on Rich's jacket. The music of mother earth. The song of the cave.

Heceta Lighthouse from Cheryl

Cheryl's News from Heceta Lighthouse

March 31, 2016

View looking south from Lighthouse

Having participated in many tours, I had a clear sense (in my mind, at least) of what makes for a dull tour. And one of the key variables, to me, was always how connected the guide was to the audience - how the guide engaged them and determined what is of interest to them to hear about.

Okay, so, public speaking is not my forte. I bumbled along. It's way more difficult than you even imagine. And then there's the gaffe. With impromptu public speaking, there is always the moment you make a gaffe. It's like it's inevitable. So, mine was saying: “ the lighthouse keeper and his wives.” Oops!  

By the end of our stay, though, I think I had reached a point where I was able to give a reasonably interesting tour of the lighthouse. Thankfully, whew.

Prior to arriving at Heceta Lighthouse, I had, of course, imaged what our job would be like. I imaged that we would be indoors for our shift. This is not the case. Rather, we are outdoors unless we are giving a tour. As you may recall, March has had above normal rainfall. Rich and I scored again - volunteering outside during heavy rains. 

During heavy rain, at least there is a nearby staff building where we can be out of the rain and warm up. For the most part, though, Rich and I and the other volunteers (there were three or four of us), we stand outside. Stand outside in sun, rain and wind. We dress appropriately. On cold and wet days, I wear so many layers I can barely bend my knees or bend over. 

Hecta Head Lighthouse Nautilus looking up the stairwell

Now, as our time at Heceta Lighthouse comes to an end, there is a little bit of sadness leaving an area of such stunning beauty and leaving the other volunteers. Amongst those volunteering for the state, the volunteers form a community. A much needed community/family as we each travel across the USA, for the most part estranged from our families.

Even though we leave Heceta Lighthouse with heavy hearts, Rich and I joyously look forward to the end of May when we return to our usual summer camp at Natural Bridge Campground - the place that has become our Summer home.

Cheryl

Cape Foulweather, Week 1

News from Winter Camp, Cape Foulweather

December 9, 2015

Cheryl's News

Rich and I arrived safely at our new hosting site. For the month of December, we are volunteering for OPRD at the Cape Foulweather Gift Shop on the Oregon Coast. Our job includes retail sales, restocking and talking to folks about any whale sightings. 

 

Cheryl and Rich at work

Not that there are many whale sighting. Grey whales as they migrate south (December through January) are on a focused mission. They do not eat as they migrate, nor hang out and check out any sights along the way. We saw a few spouts on the one clear day we have had, and that's all.

View

The view here, though, is spectacular. Windows make up two sides of the gift shop, and on clear days, it's absolutely stunning.

Rich hard at "work"

Chinese Water Torture

Our first week at Cape Foulweather included three days of torrential rain. The sound of the rain - combined with the usual sound of pine cones dropping on the trailer roof - was deafening. We could not even hear each other talk. 

 

Flooding

At least our campsite stayed “dry”, if you can actually use that kind of word for this weather. Anyway, the campsites along the creek all flooded. 

 

Blown Over Porta-Potty

We also had high wind gusts which blew over the two porta-potties in the parking lot.

Week one comes to an end, and Rich and I look forward to week two. Will the rain continue? Will our geriatric minds function well enough to run the cash register? Will the till balance at the end of the day? Will Mimi (our cat) get fed up with all the rain and head for drier climes? Stay tuned.

Old News

Blood Moon with Eclipse - End of the world stuff, that is

Rich and Cheryl's News




In case you hadn't heard, we got back to town in October. 

And when we landed, there was a thump, big thump. We are adjusting to noise, noise, noise and traffic, traffic, traffic. City living requires more energy and effort when your norm has become quiet and solitude. 

As for Mimi, our cat? She loved her time in the woods, but at heart she is a city cat.


Winter Camp plans are looking a bit messy. In December 2015 we are volunteering with Oregon State Parks at the Otter Crest Lookout Gift Shop, which is located near Cape Foulweather. Then in March 2016 we will volunteer at Hecate Head Lighthouse. Rich will spend three weeks in Haiti in January 2016. Mid May 2016 we hopefully will return to host at Natural Bridge. There is a rumor that the campgrounds in the area may be closed due to of lack of funds. If they do close, Rich and I will punt and host wherever we can.


Looking forward to the 2016 – 2017 season, we will begin choosing winter host sites that have full hook-ups, which make life a whole lot easier. We may stay at a site for one, two or three months. Either way the site(s) would be within a 2 hour drive of Portland so that we can meet with family and friends.


At present, we are keeping our options open and seeing where our hearts guide us. 

Cheryl and Rich

Falls Video from Camp Bebegone

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

Cost of (Wilderness) Living

Rich's News from Camp Webegone

I had a request to outline the costs of camp hosting. Which is an interesting exercise. 

And I find it difficult. Like home ownership there are costs over and above your day-to-day expenses. I think of the trailer much like a house. You always have repairs. Things wear out. Maintenance happens, and how do you track that without doing averages? I don't think I will have a good idea until we use it for several years. But a wild shot is maintenance is $200 a year.

Utilities are less. Even running the generator in cold weather is less than heating our home in Portland, and certainly the cost of water is much less. (We also use a lot less water). I figure the propane and gas for the generator are around $50 a month and water is the cost of two miles of driving once a week. Of course we spend nothing for our space here. I figured that in Portland my house expenses including utilities was around $500 a month. At least for 4 months we are paying way less. But the trailer depreciates and sometimes houses don't. 

Food expenses are pretty much the same although we have eaten out more often as we take a day to go shopping and have visitors that we go with to restaurants. (Also just to treat ourselves.) During hot days we may be tempted to go to the ice cream store.

Laundry is an expense we did not have. But we do not buy and maintain a washer and dryer… Still, I do think that would end up costing more, normally. But since Cheryl is not doing massage we only to 3-4 loads once a week, whereas at home it was much more because of massage sheets.

So overall, I think living like this is much less expensive, in the long run. But startup is financially intense.

Cheryl's News from Camp Webegone

Besides financial costs, there are emotional and psychological costs. Being away from family and friends for four months is a huge emotional loss/cost. I think of my ancestors who left their family and friends in the 1600's and 1800's and never had contact with them again. I don't know how they managed the grief and longing for physical connection with family and friends. Of course, they may have been focused on an adventure in a new land. What I do know is that for myself I need a different plan. A plan that includes a trip to visit family and friends sometime during the summer.

Hosting at Natural Bridge Campground fully feeds our spiritual selves. On sunny warm days spending our time outdoors nourishes our spirit. On rainy cold days, when Rich and I are confined inside our 18-foot trailer, those aspects of our personalities that are opposite flash up right in our faces. No going off to an office to work to escape. No going to a different room in the house to create space and separation. No way to avoid those pesky differences. For Rich and I these relationship issues are a work in progress. A work in progress looking at winter confined within a small room (the trailer). Stay tuned.

There are environmental costs also. There is absolutely no recycling available. With each glass container put in the garbage, a whimper of sadness. With each tin can, a shudder. With milk and such containers, a plea for forgiveness. And there is the vast amount of paper we burn. It is really hard. I've considered saving all the recycling, bringing it back to Portland, and recycling it in the fall. The image of the pickup truck filled with four months of recycling instead of food and supplies sobers me up quickly.

We drive a lot more, too. A lot more. Petroleum fumes and ancient dinosaurs spew out our exhaust pipe. Rich and I will need to lead angelic lives to compensate for our summer footprint.

Our Environment

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

Unsupervised

Cheryl's News from Camp Webegone

Wednesday, Rich and I rode our bikes the ½ mile from our camp to the entrance to the Upper Rogue River trail. We left our bikes leaning against a stump near the entrance, then went for a walk up the trail, heading north. At one point, we bush-whacked our way to the river through the undergrowth.

At the river, we each found walking sticks. These gray limbs had been chewed smooth by beaver, making them ideal and ready-made for our use!

Eventually, we headed back with our new finds. But when we returned to our bikes, we discovered that our park ranger had given us a citation for running amuck unsupervised. 

 

Ranger Citation

Our ranger has a great (and much-appreciated) sense of humor.

Cheryl

Smoke Break

Cheryl's News from Camp Webegone

Today is very smoky, and it just has not cleared at any point during the day. 

Smoky

For a breath of fresh air, Rich and I went to the library in town. It's a great relief to get out of the endless smoke.

I've mentioned the Crescent Ridge fire a couple of times. Well, currently the smoke in our camp is from the Stouts fire, which is about 40 miles away from us. The Crescent Ridge fire - about 20 miles away - is now 40% contained. Which is nice to hear, but - smoke, smoke, and more smoke. It's ghastly.

Here's a map that shows the Crescent Ridge fire as it has progressed from its beginnings on August 1. 

 

Crescent Ridge Fire

The blue marks were added by me, and they show the birthday hike path to Boundary Springs that Rich and I took back on August 6. We look forward to hiking the area again next year and see what changes the fire created. 

But for now, we hide out in our library sanctuary. Blessed relief.

Cheryl

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

Video of the Rogue River Near the Origin

Cheryl's News From Camp WeBegone

Rogue River Gorge, near origin of the Rogue River

A photo and video today, both taken at the Rogue River Gorge, near to the Rogue River's origin.

Taking You Along on Rich's Birthday Hike

Weather Update for 26 July – 1 August, 2015

High Temp: 99.3

Low Temp: 44.4

Humidity: 92% - 22%

Rain: Zip

Cheryl's News from Camp Webegone

Rich's birthday.

The day begins with me asking Rich what birthday breakfast he would like. He requests French Toast drizzled with local Huckleberry Syrup. After that, it's time to head out for Rich's Birthday Hike.

As ever, everything takes longer than you plan. So, a bit later than expected (10:27 to be exact) and 60 degrees outside, we drive to the Boundary Springs Trail entrance at Mazama Viewpoint. After the 21 mile drive to get there, the temperature has risen to 68 degrees. With a mild forecast for the day, we energetically begin walking down the Upper Rogue River trail. 

C&R Heading Out

The beginnings of the trail is set atop a ravine that follows a creek that we can hear but not see. The trail on the left side drops off into the ravine - a long tumble if you fall. The trail on the right is a rather

Desolate Woods

desolate forest comprised mostly of lodge poll pine and some mountain hemlock. 

Growing beside the trail is lupine. In May and June when the lupine is in bloom, the trail must look stunning - a half mile trek lined with purple blooms. Perhaps we will visit it again in bloom, to see it in its full splendor.

Noble Fir

Rich and I continue on until we reach a fork in the trail. Nailed to a tree is a very, very faded trail marker. If you look closely and know beforehand what the sign should say, you can make out "Boundary Springs". We follow the left side of the fork to Boundary Springs and see our first glimpses of the Rogue River. At one point the trail is set atop a high ridge with the Rogue River way down on the right, and the creek way down on the left.

The terrain in this area is quite lush. Surrounding us is a dense forest filled with white pine, sub alpine fir, noble fir, mountain hemlock, shasta red cedar, and acres and acres of huckleberries. The noble fir are picture perfect for a holiday tree.

I take special note of the huckleberry. There are two kinds of huckleberry in the area:: mountain huckleberry and huckleberry I am used to seeing in the Pacific Northwest. And I snapped a few pictures of the mountain huckleberry.

Mountain Huckleberry

One of the special things about this is place is that along and within the Rogue River, there are lots of meadows. Meadows of wildflowers.

Wildflower Meadow

Meadows of grass. Meadows of bushes.

Bush Meadow

For lunch we sit beside the Rogue River and marvel at the beauty of the meadows. 

The goal of our hike is the the origin of the Rogue River. It's actually not much farther from where we stopped for lunch. And after wandering down a few unmarked trails, we finally arrive. I find it very beautiful. But what surprises me is the volume of water at the origin is just about the same volume that flows through Natural Bridge.

Rogue River Origin

As of yet, the powers that be have not determined where the water comes from that forms the origin of the Rogue River. At any rate, it is already a mighty underground river before reaching topside. 

Rich and I hang out beside the river enjoying the peace, beauty and quiet. We've met only two other hikers on the entire trail. Of course, occasionally we do smell smoke from the Crescent Ridge fire. Can't ever quite get away from that up here. 

Rich at Boundary Springs

Eventually, it's time to head back to camp.  No sadness today, though - as we pick about two cups of huckleberries along the way. (Huckleberry pancakes for breakfast is in our near future!) We get back to the car at about 5:15, and it's now 81 degrees. Warm, but pleasant. And after dinner at Beckies, we head back to camp.

This was a new hike for both Rich and I. At camp we reflect on the beauty of nature, the quiet, the peace, the power of a river and the abundance of life a mighty river feeds. We marvel at the variety of birds observed: flickers, chickadees, robins, nuthatches, jays and humming birds. A wonderful day to celebrate a wonderful man on his 69^th birthday. 

Cheryl

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