Oregon – Page 6 – The MoHo and Other Traveling Tales

September 6 Broaden your horizons, with KFSL

Fossil, Oregon: Rain and 56 degrees F

We had big plans for today, following winding roads slipping through John Day Country, seeking out one of the more distant units of the John Day Fossil Beds. Instead, this morning it is raining, and we are listening to….cowboy rap….bluegrass…blues…with a bit of jazz thrown in for good measure. This is why people should travel, it broadens your horizons. Not just those big city travel destination kind of horizons, but the small, not so backward farm town kind of horizons.

Where else could you eat your breakfast listening to someone sing about the joys of “Home Grown Tomatoes”, and then a gravelly crazy guy playing an incredible acoustic guitar while he talks about his therapist telling him “there’s something damaged and something missing” and his brain is stuck in the on position and he is stuck in his brain behind his face?? Then comes along a cowboy singing about his mother reading him the Bible.

We could be home watching the news and doing a normal life, but instead we are in the Wheeler County Fairgrounds in the tiny town of Fossil, with only one available radio station, no TV, no internet, no phone even. Instead, we get this great DJ with a great sense of humor, and a few home grown ads thrown in for KFSL radio, and Fossil Mercantile, locally owned and operated. Where in the world does he find music like this?

It is raining and gray today. The road to Fossil yesterday, along another Oregon Scenic Byway, Journey Through Time, however, was bright and clear once we left the Cascades behind us. There are a couple of ways to get to the John Day Fossil Beds, and when planning this trip, I discovered that no matter where we stayed, no matter how we navigated our visit, there would be lots of backtracking.

It seemed that Fossil, and the Wheeler County Fairgrounds would be a good starting point, so we routed up Highway 97 17 miles beyond Madras, to turn east toward Fossil on a less traveled road than the easier Highway 26 route to John Day. The road was fine, narrow, winding, with lots of ups and downs and more than a few drop offs that always make this passenger a bit testy.

Mo is a great driver, and in my head I know things are fine, but that doesn’t stop the adrenaline from running and the body from tensing up as I look at the no shoulder cliffs right below me in the passenger seat. I would rather drive than ride on these kinds of roads, but it was a Mo driving Day.

Last night we had wild thunderstorms to accompany our return drive to the Clarno Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds. We passed by earlier in the day, deciding that we would return the 20 miles or so to hike after we settled into the fairgrounds. I was hoping for that great sunset light that makes for non-ordinary photos.

The Wheeler County Fairgrounds are up on a hill above the tiny town, and we have a view of the surrounding hills, two beautiful white church steeples out the windows and an American flag flying high above the field below us. There is an empty trailer next door, and another one down the way, our only other neighbors in this 12 spot campground. There are plain envelopes at the old wooden kiosk to use for depositing your 25 fee in the box. It says 3 bucks to dump and 3 bucks to use the bathrooms, but we won’t need either. Our site has electric, water, and sewer.

Yesterday, when we arrived, it was 98 degrees and we were happy to have the air conditioning to cool things down for Jeremy before we drove back to the Clarno beds. The storm was incredibly black, and we looked at each other thinking…hmmm…a hike? Not so sure I want to hike in a thunderstorm, but we decided to give it a try anyway.

On the way, we thought it might be nice to try a back road instead of retracing our path along 218, but the road was hidden and unmarked, and I missed it. It was a good thing I did. Another mile down the highway I saw a guy walking across the road to his barn and stopped to ask him where Stone Cabin Road might be. He laughed, and said, “I have seen that Gazateer map twice now, and it’s wrong. That was the road back there and it is a dead end.” He turned out to be a great guy, owning a juniper log mill, and is the one who did the gorgeous posts on the shelters at the Clarno Beds parking area.

He also showed us another side route along Cottonwood Creek where we could go up and down the mountains and see elk and bobcat and something different as we wound our way back to 218. We checked out our planned route to the Painted Hills Unit portion of the monument with him and were happy to find that in fact, it really went through. Always nice to check with the locals, especially friendly ones.

We didn’t see any elk or bobcats, but did see a large group of big mule deer. By the time we intersected again with the highway, the rain was coming down in earnest. Then it started pouring, and as I rounded a curve it looked literally like someone was dumping a giant bucket of water on the road in front of me. I don’t think I have driven through that kind of rain in a long time. OK then, we are going to hike in the Clarno Beds unit…

I have no idea how this happens for us, but when we got to the parking area, the rain let up. Then it stopped completely and there was even a bit of bright light to illuminate the gorgeous palisades.

Just heard this as I am writing accompanied by music and words I have never heard before. “With 100 watts of antenna melting power, KFSL, spanning the expanse from Butte Creek to something or other Summit” . Then after this little ditty, comes another saying “KFSL, a non profit radio station supported by donations from….” OK Then, they never said public radio, but this seems to me to be the very best use of public not for profit radio, a small town where radio would be non existent without it. So far there hasn’t been a speck of news or even a weather report. Hmmmm.

Back to our visit to the Clarno Beds. With no rain in sight, and thunder in the far distant north, we took off on the short Trail of the Fossils, where the signs indicated that with each step we were crossing about 37,000 years. We traveled back in geologic time to 50 million years ago, when the area was a thick lush tropical forest, much like what is found in Panama now. Fossils of more than 300 species of plants have been found here, including nuts and berries. The Clarno Nut Beds and The Hancock Mammal Quarry are the highlights of the Clarno Unit, but neither of these areas are yet open to the public. What?

Ah well, the short hike to the Palisades was beautiful and interesting. There are actually three short trails in the area south of the Palisades, but we decided against climbing the slippery rocky trail up to the base of the arch in the cliffs. The huge lightning strike just across the valley had a lot to do with that decision as well. I know if you even hear thunder it is time to seek shelter, and shelter was a long way back to the car. At least our hair wasn’t standing on end, but the more I read about lightning, the less I like being out in it.

We got back to the car just in time to miss the downpour. How lucky is that?! And I didn’t get struck by lightning either. Winding back along highway 218 to Fossil we had a bit better understanding of the lay of the land. With the ups and downs and winding roads it is very easy to get disoriented here. Obviously, the maps don’t always tell the story, either.

It was a great day, and I can tell from this morning’s entertainment, this day will be great as well, whether it rains or not. We adjusted our plans from hiking in the Painted Hills Unit to driving south toward the Sheep Rock Unit where we can spend some time in the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center.

Next: Sheep Rock Unit and some great hikes

September 5 Mackenzie Pass Magic

Cloudy and 58 degrees

I woke up on this cloudy morning wondering what happened to all the stars I saw during the night, but it was still warm enough we didn’t need any heat in the rig to be comfortable. My back felt great! We took our time with a simple breakfast and turned on the generator. No worries, not another soul in the campground to be disturbed by us, even at 7 AM!

Our planned route for the day was over Highway 126, toward the Historic Mackenzie Pass Road, and into the sunny eastern part of Oregon at Fossil. Daughter Deanna and her husband Keith took a break from truck driving recently to take the Harleys out of storage and do a road trip from Tri-Cities to Eugene. They traveled over Mackenzie Pass and Deanna warned me that there was a 35 foot total limit on rigs going over that road.

I thought, no problem, we have been over this route before. I was wrong, however. We haven’t been on this road in the MoHo. Nothing seemed familiar. Sure enough, as we turned onto the historic road 242, more signs warned of the 35 foot limit. We are just over 44 feet total from bumper to bumper with the Tracker hooked up, but we thought, “No problem, we have been on far worse roads, I am sure”

Well, so much for that! As we continued up the road, we came to another open gate and a very large sign with very bright blinking lights that notified us, “OVERLENGTH VEHICLE DETECTED!!” Capitals intentional, that sign was doing everything but yelling. Okay then. We thought maybe it might be a good idea to unhook before continuing over the Mackenzie Pass Highway. This is one of the reasons that we chose a motorhome instead of a truck and fiver, we can unhook and BOTH parts of our setup can be driven in tight situations. Has worked out in the past for us, and it worked out again today.

It was a gorgeous drive, deep and dark under the overcast skies, with forest thick and lush as any you might find in the rain forest. The pavement was surprisingly perfect, with brand new yellow lines, but of course, no shoulders. Our dual tires just fit between the center line and the edge of the road, and yes, there were a few places where the Tracker may have been a bit too much. But I still think we would have made it OK. Monitor Pass from California down to 395 was much more difficult, and we didn’t encounter any over-length signs on that road at all. Still, it is good to follow the rules most of the time at least.

Once near the summit, we encountered huge lava flows and distant view of Belknap Crater across the black expanse. Since I was driving the baby car, I stayed behind to take photos while Mo continued to the summit.

Another huge surprise on this road that we never drove before was the Dee Wright mountain observatory built by the CCC in the 30’s. I’ll let the photos tell the story.

The observatory is beautiful, and even on the slightly overcast day, we could see most of the mountains through the labeled portals inside the observatory. I think that the legacy of what the CCC created is one of our greatest treasures. It saddens me that today we can’t manage to do anything of this magnitude with our tax money.

The Observatory is right at the summit of the pass, and the narrow road continues down and east toward Sisters. I followed along in the Tracker, waiting for an opportune moment to hook back up, and was surprised that it was a very short time before we were actually in Sisters, where we pulled over and hooked up the car to continue east toward Redmond. Hi again, Loree! Once again we are in Redmond and you are still traveling back home from your journey east. Eventually we are going to get together!

Next post: Highway 126 to 97 to 293 to 218 to Fossil Oregon and the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

September 4 If a Tree Falls In the Woods…

Delta Campground on the Mackenzie River Overcast and 58 degrees F

…and if no one is there, does it make a sound? According to our camp host at Delta Campground, it not only makes a sound but it shakes the ground like a large earthquake. Lucky for us, this happened in site 28, and we are camped in site 21. Of course, lucky for us as well, it happened last May, although even more lucky for the campers in site 27 when this giant ancient cedar went down.

I guess that is one of the wonders of an old growth forest, technically more the 200 years old, but this one has trees up to 1000 years old tucked away. It is amazing to see what an old growth Douglas-fir forest actually looks like, since almost all of our forests in the west have been cut or burned over in the last couple of hundred years.

So, how did we end up on the Mackenzie River on the west side of the Cascades when our travels were taking us east to the John Day country? Two words: Junction City. Fellow RV’rs who come west are probably familiar with this RV sale and repair location in Oregon. For us, Guaranty RV in Junction City is where Mo found the first baby MoHo back in 2005. A sweet little used 2001 21 foot Dynamax Starflyte, the baby MoHo served us well, and hooked us on the Dynamax brand.

We have had our “new” MoHo for nearly six years now, and she has served us exceptionally well. However, there are just a couple of little things that after six years we have decided to change. For one, the mattress was one of those cheap things with old springs that would sag to the plywood foundation with a little weight. We added a memory foam topper, but it still sagged and was the source of many a 2am Advil run for me.

New mattress on the agenda! I had researched online a bit, and came up with a specially made mattress for about 800 bucks, including shipping. Seemed a bit spendy, but cost was irrelevant when it came to my back.

Second thing that we finally decided to change was our lovely leather FlexSteel sofa that makes out into a queen sized air bed. Beautiful sofa. We never once made out the bed. When we first got the MoHo it looked so nice and classy. And it is comfortable enough, but really just for one person who wants to stretch out and watch tv. The seat is curved in a way that makes the middle the only easy place to sit, and of course when company comes we bring in the folding chairs. Our driving and passenger seat don’t swivel.

We have some nice little folding tables that we bring out for meals, but the configuration isn’t really optimum. Solution? Let’s get one of those big u-shaped dinette units that we see in some of the newer rigs! So again, a little research led me to Countryside RV Interiors in Junction City. They didn’t have those big FlexSteel units, but would gladly build us a very nice U shaped dinette for about 5,000. Yeah, that is dollars!

Hmmm, maybe not. We looked around a bit more, and Mo found this great looking dinette from Flexsteel that still makes down into a bed in case we might need one for whatever reason. The leather matches our existing driving and passenger seats, and there are drawers for a bit of storage as well. We took the MoHo over to Junction City for consultation, measurements, and we ordered the nifty FlexSteel unit, scheduled to arrive in October sometime. Just a little over half what the custom made unit would have cost us.

Steve and Terri at Countryside Interiors are great, they have a good inventory, and can order anything and install it for you. They pointed us to American Mattress in Eugene to find a mattress. They actually make mattresses there, and have an entire showroom for testing. The salesman tried to point me to different kinds of foam, but I know they will break down and I wanted a real coil mattress. Finally I found a firm one and knew that it what I needed, no sagging coils, no bending on the sides, but cushy enough on the top for old bones. That’s it, I said.

Ok then, give us a couple of weeks and we can cut it down to fit. Our mattress is one of those 3/4 full things that has an angle cut off on the end. Perfect for the tight space, but a bit weird to replace. Long story short, that is why we traveled to John Day via Eugene and Junction City. I now have a new mattress and it feels great!!! Finally. And the cost was just over $400, less than half the price of the mattress replacement I found online. Good job American Mattress!

Of course, if we were going to be in Eugene, we would have to get back over the Cascades to go east. I thought we had traveled up the Mackenzie Highway in the past, so planned that route and found the Delta Campground on the internet at the Willamette National Forest website. It looked like it would be a good stop and it was.

We landed at 3:30 in the afternoon, under cloudy skies. There wasn’t one single camper in the entire campground of 37 sites and the camp host was nowhere to be found. We wandered through trying to decide, you know how it is with too many choices. Site 21 appeared, with a nice big tree between us and the road, a pull through site, and closer to the picnic table than most. We just pulled in and didn’t bother looking at the rest. Turned out great, because it was one of the best sites.

After settling in, we walked back two sites to the head of the short interpretive trail through the forest. With three wooden bridges crossing Delta Creek, and a meandering path among the old giants, it was a beautiful, gentle walk. I don’t think I have ever seen Douglas-firs this huge and the one old hemlock that was 1,000 years old is definitely the biggest I have ever seen. These trees aren’t as big around as some of the redwoods, but they are more than 200 feet tall. Just amazing. This collage is four photos of the same tree, bottom to the top

A tree that doesn’t look quite as impressive, but just as old are the western yews, source of the cancer drug Taxol, and almost completely endangered by the illegal harvesting of their bark. People would strip the bark all the way around, killing the trees, instead of taking only small amounts and saving the tree. These trees only grow in old growth forests, and thankfully a synthetic has been developed so the remaining trees are safe. At least as long as the old growth is safe.

We heated up navy bean soup from home and had a nice campfire before settling into the dark forest for the evening. The camp host showed up as we were sitting by the fire to regale us with stories of the campground, the area, and the big tree that fell in space 28 last spring. He was a nice guy, very talkative, and never said a word about Abby being off leash while we sat around the fire.

We ended the outdoor part of the evening with a nice swim for Abby just down a short walk from our picnic table. The night was absolutely silent and completely dark except for a few winking stars that showed up sometime during the night as the clouds lifted.

Oregon Fires

Photo Credits to the Douglas Forest Protective Association from their (Facebook Page Link )

Time for a little bit of update now that we are back home in Rocky Point. We planned a few days in Grants Pass, and as luck would have it, we arrived the morning after more than 3,000 lightning strikes from a summer storm ignited at least 54 fires on private and BLM lands in Southern Oregon. Living in the west as we do, keeping track of the fire situation is part of the routine, and we aren’t surprised to see smoke rising from one direction or another. Some years are worse than others. The year I moved to Klamath Falls in 2002, the Biscuit Fire burned more than 500,000 acres in the Siskiyou National Forest and the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. Much controversy continues to this day about whether or not to allow salvage logging in these wild areas.
Several times in the last few years we have cancelled an August camping trip to one place or another due to smoke, and some of you may remember our travels last summer in the upper West that were marred by smoke from huge fires in Idaho and Montana. There are many good resources to help keep track of fires and smoke, the best of which is found at the Incident Information website, http://www.inciweb.org. This year, however, it was several days before the webmasters of this amazing site were able to keep up to date with all the rapidly changing information for the Douglas Complex fires. Another very helpful website related to fire and smoke is on Weather Underground, where the WunderMap for an area has a layer for active fires that shows the current fire situation and the extent of smoke cover.
Actually, by the time we reached the pass last Saturday morning we didn’t need a website to know that smoke was probably going to be an issue for the entire time we planned to work at the cottage. Once these fires start, it takes some serious weather to calm them down, and our rains don’t usually show up until October. In the mean time, we get thunderstorms, with or without dry lightning, and very little real moisture. Sometimes a marine system will come in and cause a shift and the smoke clears a bit, but it is usually around one way or another after a fire like this gets under way.
Our main goal for the trip was to make sure we got the wood split from the trees we took down last month before it got too dry. Mo loaded up the splitter in the big trailer and hooked it up to the truck for the trip. We took the MoHo since daughter Deb is now living in the little cottage (one bedroom only) and we didn’t want to completely invade her space.
It turned out to be an incredibly productive trip, in spite of the heavy smoke. We got all the wood split, with close to a cord of oak and about 3/4 cord of madrone, probably the best firewood around in Oregon. The big rounds were heavy, but with the three of us working, (Mo does the splitting part) we managed to get it all done on the first day we were there. We have a good ten cords stored here at home already, so plan to let the hardwood dry at the cottage before bringing it back here in a year or so. We heat with wood in Rocky Point, but the cottage has a gas heater that works just fine. No fireplace.
We had a great time with Deb, and she had a chance to show her strength and skill at demolition, tearing out a lot of the old wood and shelves and yukky “stuff” that was in the old bunkhouse. We will eventually tear down the bunkhouse add-ons, but the main part of the building will be saved for Mo’s workshop. Mo worked a lot on the sink plumbing again, and on building the wall and new cupboard that separates the bath and kitchen. Finally we don’t have to hang a quilt for bathroom privacy! Of course, her projects are not made any easier by the fact that nothing is even close to plumb in the little cottage and the reclaimed wood she is using is rarely square. Lots of measuring and sawing involved.
Deb and I managed to get a full load of metal for the recyclers and made almost enough money to pay for the full load that we took to the dump the next morning. I have no idea how many dump loads we have hauled out of that place, but sooner or later we will get it all cleaned up. In the midst of all the work, we cooked some good meals and enjoyed sitting at the table in the old fashioned kitchen in front of the windows. Deb and I took time to play some rousing games of Hand and Foot, my favorite! I taught her how, but she is fast catching up to me. Dang!
We also took an evening to go see “The Lone Ranger”. Mo didn’t want to go, so we had a mom and daughter night with popcorn and one of the most entertaining movie experiences I have had in a long time. There were some great sight gags, gorgeous photography of very familiar places I have traveled, including the exact spot where I built a campfire in Valley of the Gods back in 2004. We both love Johnny Depp and his performance was great. I am really glad that I didn’t let some of the negative things I have heard about the movie keep me from at least giving it a try.
We came home to Rocky Point to discover smoky skies on this side of the Cascade crest as well, and our first night back included another big thunderstorm that ignited a few more fires on this side of the mountain. One bolt hit right on top of us, and I had an especially good view of it through the skylights! Do you suppose that lightning could come in through those roof windows??
We live in the forest. Fire happens here. It could happen to us. This part of Rocky Point hasn’t burned in more than 100 years. I hope I don’t ever have to live through what so many have endured in the last few years. I read about Nan trying to help her daughter save her cabin near Idyllwild, and Gaelyn returning home to her lot in Arizona with sadness. But for the grace of God, we could be there as well. I am thankful every single day.

Camping in a Caldera

Monday July 16 at East Lake in the Newberry Caldera east of Lapine, southeast of Bend, Oregon

Temperature at 9am 66 degrees F, last night low T 55 degrees F, might get to 79 today, or not.

Something about being in the mountains by a beautiful reflective lake makes time completely irrelevant. I know that it is morning. There are a few high puffy clouds coming in from the west that hint that there may be a shift in the weather on the way, but I have no way to predict what could happen except my own personal weather savvy from looking at the sky and feeling the air.

We have been here at East Lake, the smaller and quieter of two lovely lakes at Newberry Crater for a few days now. Not sure how many, maybe three? I vaguely remember going to the Sisters Quilt Show last Saturday, but it has already become a bit of a memory filled in and muted by hours and hours of images of reflected water and sky. I’ll have to blog about the quilt show eventually, maybe when I get back home and get out of this lazy lake mode.

Yesterday early in the morning we kayaked east and found the hot springs that I knew were tucked in along the shoreline, small pools hand dug in the pumice sands to moderate the hottest temperatures coming from the bubbling springs. A mayfly hatch made for interesting reflections on the perfectly still water, frustrating all the fishermen with their various catch methods. Those big black-backed trout were very happy filling up on mayflies. Seems as though someone dumped chubs in this lake and instead of poisoning the lake with rotenone as was done on Diamond Lake, they imported some non native Canadian Black Backed trout, or maybe they are European. Supposedly they are strong predators of chubs and the native trout can recuperate. Reminds me a bit of rabbits in Australia.

I was glad that those bugs weren’t very interested in landing on me and didn’t seem to bite. We heard that they only hatched yesterday, but a few non biting mayflies are nothing compared to mosquitoes and gnats, neither of which seem to have found this perfect little lake in the mountains.

There are incredible geologic stories of the Newberry Caldera, recent volcanism, obsidian flows, there is even a nice visitor center not far from the entrance to the national whatever area that this is. I don’t know. I don’t have internet or even a cell signal to look up and research every little thing, I just have my memories and much like the weather, I can only share what is already tucked away in my mind. I am completely disconnected from the outside world. All I have is water, pumice sand beaches, blue blue skies, clean clear water, and yes, an absolutely to die for, perfect campsite right on the beach.

Roger and Nancy provided a couple of nights of easy camping in their driveway in Lapine with hookups and a great dinner of bbq chicken on one night and we all shared a yummy treat dinner at McMennimen’s in Bend the night of the quilt show. On Sunday we packed up the rigs and headed east just an hour or so to Paulina and East Lake in the Newberry Crater area. We thought that by Sunday afternoon the campgrounds should have quieted enough that we could get a campsite without much trouble.

Surprise! East Lake is a very popular little fishing lake for the locals, and we only managed to snag a good beach front site by walking the park, checking the exit dates on all the tags, and finally asking one camper when he planned to leave. He was very accommodating, and said if we paid now, we could take possession of his site when he pulled out in a couple of hours. I guess that is the way it is done here. We got here about two hours before the 2PM exit time, and it wasn’t a bit too early since other folks were checking tags after us and any later than we were wouldn’t have been so lucky.

Even on a Sunday night, all the front row water sites were taken, but by Monday the park did have a very few unoccupied sites toward the back row of the park. We are camped at East Lake Campground, the best one in our opinion because of its easy access to the water, although there are bigger campgrounds in the area, and this one only has 24 sites. There is a boat launch and a large parking area for boat trailers.

Seems as though fishing is the most popular pastime here, and the first night we saw a young family pull in with a nice big string of trout for dinner. After the mayfly hatch, however, the catch went way down. The lake has a 10 mph limit so that makes it wonderful for kayakers like us. I haven’t yet learned how to paddle at 10 mph.

I really have lost track of time, a nice thing. We have been out in the boats paddling in several directions, found little bays and inlets, and of course, the hot springs. We have cooked suppers to share at the picnic table, and in Roger’s rig when the evening winds were a bit too much. We have had campfires with the great juniper wood Mo loaded up from home, and learned to make S’mor’s with Less, a new favorite of mine. S’mores are just too dry for me, but if you slip a perfect little square of chocolate inside a perfectly done marshmallow, the chocolate melts and ohmy!! Even Roger who refuses to eat marshmallows decided it looked too good to pass up and he loved the one that he tried.

Last night brought a bit of a downer for us, though, when we decided to go for a walk and Nancy discovered they had locked themselves out of their rig. No spare key anywhere. She also thought their car was locked, and of course we don’t have a car with us either. There is no cell phone service here, so we walked down to the camp host who offered a hangar and if needed a ride over to Paulina Lake and his boss who had a land line. Nancy’s wallet, everything, was in the rig, so she didn’t even have phone numbers of Good Sam, or any information to try to call. It was already getting dark and Mo and I were thinking we might need to break out the sofa bed (not ever used) and picturing a night in our rig with 4 adults, 2 dogs, and an elderly cat was interesting.

Lo and behold, when Roger checked their Honda, it wasn’t locked! Still no wallet or rig keys, but at least one little Honda key in the glove box, something called a “valet key” that started the car. They decided the best option would be to drive back home (just an hour from here) where they could make the needed phone calls, have access to their information, and sleep in their own bed. We are hoping they will show up here sometime this morning with someone to open up the rig and all will be well.

Tuesday July 17 Sherry, this one is for you!

East Lake Hot Spring is a magical little spring that emerges right along the shoreline of the caldera lake bubbling up through the pumice sands. People have scooped out the sand into a couple of small pools, and edged them with rocks and logs to keep the hot water contained. The pumice is lightweight and a bit crunchy, but you can scoop it out deeper if you want a deeper pool, and the temperature can be controlled by sweeping more cool water from the lake into your little handmade pool of choice.

The momentary drama of last evening was solved easily when Roger and Nancy spent the night at home, calling first thing in the morning to the dealer where they bought their rig. It was a 2012 model, without electronic keys, so they got a replacement key for just $7.00, and before noon they were back here in the mountains with us, rig opened up, and everything just fine.

Nancy and I decided to kayak over to the springs while Mo and Roger took the spring hike trail up over the hill. They found us in the pools, from a high spot overlooking the spring, but certainly not any kind of path I would want to climb down to get there. Kayaks are the only way to go. Mo and I had boated over there earlier in the morning for a soak and there already were some kayakers there enjoying the lovely little spring, but they called out saying they would be leaving within ten minutes or so, and I waited my turn. I had the springs to myself for a long time while Mo paddled east to the East Lake Resort in the distance.

East Lake shoreline hot springs So my afternoon soak with Nancy was the second of the day for me. What an amazing treat! After paddling back to the campground, we all settled in on the beach with the dogs and balls, and Nancy and I even braved the chilly waters for some swimming. A bit later I thought it might be interesting to see how Jeremy was in the kayak and that turned out great. He did really well, but finally decided that he wanted to leap back to shore. It is said that Turkish Angora kitties love to swim and Jeremy may have not loved it, but he definitely was a great swimmer. He kept his head above water and just swam into shore. He may have been a bit indignant, and he was definitely a bag of bones with all that wet fur, but he didn’t seem to mind that much. I took him in a couple more times and he proved his swimming abilities quite well. Jeremy goes kayaking while the doge play

We were treated to a nice clean fluffy cat when he finished drying himself off. The sun was brilliant and the pumice sands were warm and he liked being there, at least I think he liked it. He at least didn’t run away. kitty swim

We all settled in on the beach and I kept looking at the dark cliffs on the opposite shore of the lake. The wind wasn’t too strong and I decided to jump in the boat one more time for an pre-supper paddle. It was only about a mile and a half across the lake, but I paddled hard for a good 45 minutes before I finally approached the cliffs. No matter how much I paddled, they always seemed as though they were close, but I kept paddling and they didn’t seem to get any closer. In the shadow of the cliffs, the water was calm, and I could hear it lapping inside the eroded rhyolite volcanic rock caves. The water was very deep and clear and the cliffs had much more complexity that it appeared from a distance. In fact, they were almost scary.

There was a deep spiritual silence there, and the closer I got to the rock, the more I felt as though I needed to ask permission to be there. I looked up and said a little prayer before I paddled close and touched those dark rocks. Yeah, it was spooky, for no reason I can name. A powerful spot. I turned away after a time and paddled straight back across the lake without much trouble. I had purposely left the camera behind so I wouldn’t have to worry about it, and as I was silently cruising around those rocks I thought it was properly fitting that I didn’t photograph the moment. rougher than it looks!

The next morning Mo and I woke to glassy waters and decided that it would be fun to cross the lake once again, returning by way of the springs. Within minutes of launching, a big lake wind came up making for a very rough crossing. This time I did have the camera, but the I took very few photos, since I was paddling hard against the wind and current. We reached the cliffs, which seemed less spooky and actually more dangerous with the rough water. I could see how a storm could bash you right up against those dark rocks. We didn’t linger, and decided that it would be safer and easier to skirt the shoreline along the northeast side of the lake along the Cinder Hill campground and around past the East Lake Resort to the hot springs.

By the time we reached the springs, we had been on the lake longer than planned so a dip wasn’t in the cards, but it was good to be there at least one more time. Roger and Nancy had already left early that morning and we needed to be in Lapine by mid afternoon. We packed up in a nice breeze but I was still sorry to leave that beautiful, warm and sunny beach.

On the way out I thought it would be good to stop at the visitor center, but the parking was extremely limited, with only 15 minutes on the south side of the road and no parking signs everywhere else. I figured it wasn’t worth it, but hopefully next time I go to East Lake I can stop in to read about the monument and the geology. The Newberry area is “hot”, and there is some controversy brewing about companies planning to inject water under high pressure deep into the fissures in the lava to generate steam power. Ahh, let’s mess with nature just a little bit more. But since I am still writing this without the benefit of the internet, you will just have to search it out yourself!