Our Winter Camp

Winter Camp, Heceta Lighthouse

March 18, 2016

Heceta Head Lighthouse

We arrived at our winter camp on March 2^nd, which was a day later than planned. The day before, we were at Whalers Rest Thousand Trails campground. We were staying there for a few days, so we could be tourists for a while. When working, we find we do not get out to the sights. Though that may, at least in part, be because we have had such gorgeous sights at our work, so after work we just need to chill out.

Being a tourist takes energy!

But anyway, when we set to leave, we had a wind warning of 60 mpr winds, and we figured that driving even the short distance to the lighthouse might not be wise. I think the wind has been the most challenging weather-wise, as we had another big windstorm the other night. But so far, our trailer has always been in a well-protected spot, and so we have not faced the brunt of the storms. Which has been a great relief.

The site is gorgeous with incredible views - of particular note are the occasional whale spout and sealions barking to us. We are in sight of the Sea Lion Caves and there are at least a hundred sealions fishing, playing or basking on the water. The drive in either direction is filled with beauty. I had forgotten just how much, as it has been a long time since I last visited here.

We've been here for a couple of days now. Working at the lighthouse has been delightful. It took us a couple days to become "experts", and we now give short talks with confidence and knowledge. History here is interesting.

The lighthouse was opened in 1894. It had 3 keepers who lived on site with their families. One of their homes is still here and used as a bed-and-breakfast inn. Each day we learn new things as people ask questions we do not know answers to, or they offer us new information. Being early March, and mostly windy and rainy, we have mostly only had small groups, and we find them to be very appreciative for our tours.

The first day we did not dress quite warm enough. You spend a lot of time in the wind here, and we did not realize the amount of energy that took till we got home and just absolutely crashed. Since then, we have doubled (or even tripled) our layers, and we are smart enough now to get out of the wind when it really starts to blow.

Recently I have been able to appreciate more deeply the impact of roads and electricity. The road here was completed in 1932, and up til that time the community here was quite isolated. Trips to Florence were either by boat or by a long trip on a wagon on dirt tracks that often were impassible in the rain. It is amazing to me to imagine the process of anchoring off the bay and using boats to go through the surf to deliver materials and essentials to the lighthouse keepers. 

But then, suddenly after just a few years of hard road building, the keepers here were minutes away from Florence. What a change that must have been!

Prior to 1934 (which was the year when electricity arrived here), the lighthouse light was a kerosene lamp, which had to be tended to each night and shut down during the day. This required 3 people to manage - trimming the wick, hauling kerosene up to the lamp, keeping it all clean, and such. The arrival of electricity eventually eliminated one keeper job, and in 1963 the lighthouse became totally automatic. And, of course, after that the lighthouse keeper position was obsolete.

A short existence, but very interesting, chapter in the life of Oregon.

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