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.
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.
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
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.
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.
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 69th birthday.
Last summer there was a large variety of blooming flowers all during the season at Natural Bridge Campground, unusual for the area. This was a result of increased rainfall during
the winter and spring that year. And while I was at Camp Webeback, I couldn't help but wonder what this year's summer blossoms would be like, how much there would be if there wasn't all that rain.
But upon arriving in camp, it was
clear that a lot of rain had fallen during this winter and
spring, as well. Lush greenery all around, and the campground was laced with vole trails.
Voles ruffle the surface of the earth as they tunnel around seeking worm
snacks or - optimistically - a night crawler for dinner.
Rain = worms = voles. And thus, conversely, if you see vole tracks, it means there's worms, which means there was rain. We will be blessed with bountiful blooms again this
year.
A lot of plants bloomed in May. I have pictures of 15 different
plants. Here are my favorites.
Dogwood
Iris
Solomon's Seal
(Slipper Flower)
Vanilla Leaf
Wild Strawberry
Sometime I would like to
come up in April to view the trilliums in bloom. There are a few
precious such plants in camp.
Wednesday, June 17th, we have a
day off. A day to be lazy. A day to eat and read to our heart's
content. Back before we started camp hosting, when Rich and I would go camping, we called it going to eat
and read, because that was how most of our time was spent.
On this break, in the afternoon after a
long period of reading, we walk from camp to Natural Bridge. We walk
along the Rouge River. Decades ago, in prelitigation era, the path, a
small portion of which still exists,
Old Path
took you to the
river's edge. You could sit and dip your toes in the water. You could
walk across the natural bridge. Those days are long gone. However,
for adventurous campers at Natural Bridge Campground, it is still an
option.
Still, there is a trade-off to doing so. Sitting at the river's edge, you miss
the spectacular falls.
The main reason I wanted
to walk this particular trail (deer trail for the most part), is there
is a better view of the Rogue River entering the lava tube tunnel.
Into the Tunnel
Unfortunately, it's real hard to capture what's happening in a pic. Dang. But what you are seeing in the above pic is the river
flowing under the log then into the tunnel.
After spending a leisurely
time at Natural Bridge, we meander home to camp. Dinner is pan-fried
pork chops, steamed yams served with a bit of butter and brown sugar
and salad. The last of the salad until Tuesday. Dinner followed with
reading while sitting outside in the meshed shelter until it is too dark
to read. A wonderful meal and enjoyable books to close a wonderful
day off.
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.
Ah, the elusive Water Ouzel,
aka the American Dipper. Rarely do they still long enough to photograph. Not
much contrast either, as their color is the same color as the rock they are
typically standing on.
Dipper
For years now, Rich and I have
tried to spot an Ouzel nest. But they are always located somewhere inaccessible, like a hole high up in arock. Or you see them fly to a nest area
that is across the river, with no path to get there. And if you try to take a picture all the way across the river, the Ouzel appears about the size of an ant. Not to mention, it turns out looking more like a small rock projection than a bird.
But today, it finally happened! The long awaited moment
arrives, and we feel blessed. We spotted a nest.
Rich and I sat for a long,
long time, patiently waiting for the Ouzels to arrive and feed their
young. Waiting for a few decent photos. Waiting for a chance to make an interesting
video. Long enough to need to stand up occasionally and walk around
to get some circulation in your butt.
And at last, our patience is rewarded, and the Ouzels arrive. The female is not
concerned at all by our presence. She flies straight to the nest, feeding
frenzy, then flies off. The male is very shy. A
bonus for us. He hangs near to the nest area, creeping a bit closer
over time, maybe 10 minutes before feeling safe to feed its young.
The bonus is, he sits still long enough to photograph and video!
(The picture and video are of our Ouzel nest viewing at Natural Bridge
along the Rouge River! Enjoy!)
One of the things we missed while we were at Webeback is wildlife spotting. Both Rich and I were eagerly awaiting our first deer sighting, and it at last happened on Memorial Day. We had spotted some well-used deer trails just behind the site of our
camp, so we were hoping to get at least one sighting from our camp
before the deer changed
their route in order to avoid our campsite. We were lucky we were outside and at
our camp at just the right moment. This photo is taken from our
campsite.
Rich and I wonder if this is one of the
fawns from last year, now grown up, a yearling.
(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.
