Bears and Bits

Today I finally joined Mike at the river dredging. While he was under water for a couple hours, I crevassed - scooped and swept sand and dirt from the sides of rocks and underneath where the water had run over them during a flood. Then I took the bucket of dirt and ran it through a sluice Mike had set up on the river's edge and let the water wash through the dirt. When we cleaned up later, there were some bitzy specs of gold so I'll probably keep scooping dirt in the same spot.


As Mike was closing up for the day, I noticed a visitor we had across the river -- a large brown bear, grazing on early berries. It was across the river on a ledge and didn't pay us any attention but we kept an eye on it since bears can swim! It may have been the mama of the little one Mike saw earlier in the month, or just a loner out foraging. The picture up top is of the bear across the river..the one below is when I zoomed in the print so you could see the bear. And the one of the guy in the wet suit is Mike by his dredge! It's a lot of heavy, hard work to set up and take down the dredge equipment, lug a bucket of concentrate up the hill along with a wet wet suit and gear. Mike gets quite a workout! I did laundry afterwards and enjoyed resting on the laundry room couch.

I got a cookbook today from RV-Dreams, a blog by a couple that is full-timing across the U.S. Lots of good sounding eats to try out, though we're still working on the 10 lbs. of beef brisket.

It seems to me that there is still a pecking order, even here in the boondocks, at least among RVers. Those with old beat up rigs or small ones (like ours) are below those with the monster drivable diesel buses, or Class A's. It's funny that trailer folk should divide up into cliques. Guess it's just human nature.

It's been 2 months that we've been here now and we plan on staying for a while yet. I liked it out on the river, surrounded by pines and fresh air ...but not bears!

Smokin'

We started out this morning early because the 49ers wanted to interview us for the newsletter. Don't know if they will use our interview but if they do, we'll be sure to provide a link.

Since we were up early, Mike started his first experiment with the smoker barbeque. He did Texas style, no basting or rubs or marinades, with a 10 lb. beef brisket over cedar. I went off to town to help out at the Chamber.

When I got back about 4pm, we had scrumptious smoked beef, melt in your mouth. Nice not to have to do a lot of cooking! We shared the extras with the neighbors and have to clean up the grill so as to not attract any creatures at night.

Wonder what goodies he'll cook up next?

Fire on the Mountain

For the past couple days we have been living with the smell of smoke in the campground from forest fires that got started in the mountains by lightning. Lots of forest service people and their trucks are showing up in town (there's a big campsite for them). We've been told there's no danger, it's just that being along the creek the smoke tends to settle there in the late evening.
In any case, we've thought through what we would grab in a hurry (computers were the top of both of our list!).

Yesterday I took a class in jewelry beading at the rec room in the campground, great fun! It was quick and easy and we ladies got to chat at the same time. Several folks here have been coming to the campground for several years and had great stories to share. It's really helping me see how others have embraced retirement and living away from "sticks and bricks", aka a house.

We attended our first 49er's Saturday night potluck. It was quite a crowd, more men than women, a good choice of food and great conversation. We met couples from Tucson, Apache Junction and Congress.

We took our grocery run into Grants Pass today. We stopped for Chinese food in Cave Junction, home of the Oregon Caves, which I plan on visiting sometime. The food was fresh though a little bland and our fellow diners provided entertainment, from the young couple that needed to get a room (aah, young love!) to the early day "tipper" who tried to join us for lunch. There was a Book Exchange in the shopping center, so I was able to dump off some books in trade. I've found that whatever I really need seems to show up. Speaking of which, my new AC adapter for the PC came in the mail (yeah for eBay!)

I also got great news from #1 Son who is making a good living at poker. He's won a bunch this month. Brains and talent!


Finally, the picture of the day is our darlin' grandbaby, isn't she the cutest?

Wrapping up the week

It's nice to chat with the folks in the campground who've been here before. I get restaurant recommendations and stories of what the weather's been like in previous years. Today I helped out a neighbor with her iMac. It sure is a pretty machine...maybe MY next computer (sorry, PC). Mike found a snake (not a rattler) under his tarp today and as he was driving away from his spot he saw a small bear. It's their home too.

This weekend there is a beading class in the campground that I plan to attend. Mike got a wicked looking machette to carry when we go hiking, so maybe we'll go out this weekend.

Working for fun

Mike has decided on a new venture, barbecuing and smoking on an outdoor grill. We picked up a smoker/barbecue combo and he's chopped a pile of cedar to go in it. We've been watching the "Diners and Dives" food network show and have some ideas for cooking. Watch out!

I am enjoying volunteering, it's a nice balance of sociability in town and solitude at home. I pick up a little more history of this place each week. The town has been around since the gold rush in the 1800's so there's a lot to cover.

The butterflies are coming out and I hear hummingbirds zip by every once in a while. I plan on getting a feeder the next trip into town.

I have a teeny garden, 2 tomato plants and some herbs. No fruit on the vine yet but tomatoes would be welcome with the recent scare.

I got the cutest ever picture of our grandbaby who just rolled over for the first time. We sure miss seeing her.

Time to watch the Top 10 films show.

Ashland

This weekend we went to Ashland, Oregon, home of the Shakespeare Festival. It's a wonderful town, lots of theatre (of course) and the accompanying shops and restaurants. I plan on going in some time and catching a play. Comedy of Errors was recommended by the staff at the ticket office.

We had lunch at the Greenleaf Restaurant and strolled through the park along the creek. I'm still enjoying all the greenery and the cooler weather here. Maybe a second home someday?

Yesterday all the kids contacted Mike to wish him Father's Day and he spent the day watching the U.S. Open and building a "baby" sluice box to use on the picnic table outside the front door. I worked on some altered books and in the evening we went to the campground potluck. The food is good and lots of variety and its nice to get a night off from cooking a full meal ;-)

We go to sleep listening to the water rushing down the creek. Another day in paradise.

Father's Day

I have the world's best Dad. He has always been there for me and at the same time didn't intrude. It's hard to put into words all the wonderful things about someone that's been there for your whole life whenever you needed him. If anyone wants a lesson in being a Dad, he's got the doctorate.

My DH (dear husband) has many of the same qualities and would do anything for his children and grandchildren. Guess I married one like my Dad :-)

My brother is an amazing,hard-working Dad, fun and a jack-of-all-trades who can put a smile on his kids' faces anytime. My brothers-in-law prove that my sisters picked husbands like our Dad too.

I hope your Dad is someone special to you.

You all know I adore

You all know I adore techie stuff so I'm trying this feature where I can post to my blog from my phone. She's dangerous!

In the groove

Another week in the boonies! The weather is getting slowly warmer, which makes it better for Mike to go out dredging. He was moving big rocks today, underwater, with his new prescription diving mask. Easier to see the numerous crawdads, the occasional fish and possibly even an eel, he wasn't sure on that one.

I've been helping out at the Chamber and working at my paid employment from the PC. Here's a grin. I've been searching in the art supply and scrapbook stores and sections for the glue described in the bookmaking books and classes - PVA or polyvinyl acetate, something like that. Well, today I figured out (googling) that it's just a generic name for good ol' Elmers glue. Sheesh, do I feel like an idiot! With that issue solved, I can assemble some of the projects I've had on hold.

Backing up a bit, I did some more exploring in Grants Pass Monday before we came back to camp. There are some great antique stores, I guess the area is a retirement haven and folks dump a lot of stuff when they downsize here. I found some minature quilt squares from vintage fabric, some more interesting altered book potentials, a new coffee cup that fits my one cup maker, an old dictionary (another goodie for crafting) and a magazine rack for the RV. Mike's already mounted the rack and put up a new blind on the back window (handy guy!) There were more small stores I didn't get to explore and a couple museums that aren't open on Sun-Mon so they will have to wait until the next trip.

We ordered up a TV feature called "Distant Network Service". It gives you the local SFO and ATL stations along with your cable TV (ours is from Dish). It gives Mike a choice on watching broadcast shows (though the summer shows are now mostly re-runs).

I've been researching getting a router (to transmit a wireless signal in our RV from our aircard), an amplifier (to boost the signal for either the data aircard or the cell phones) and an external antenna. We could use a better phone signal at the RV and we can't really get a good signal inside. But, then we'd be talking and surfing and that's not the idea out here!

Mike picked out a new crock pot, with a removable crock and 3 heat settings on our last Wolly World stop and tonight it was broken in with sausage spaghetti that I had going all day. Yumm!

I think I'll practice my flutes a little before it gets dark about 9pm, sleep well to you all!

Nice suprises

This morning Mike announced we were going to Grants Pass and spend the night. It's very nice to sleep in a regular bed now and then! It's a quiet town, mostly retirees I was told by the hotel clerk. Since it's Sunday, most of the downtown stores were closed, but we wandered around and found a few antique stores open. I scooped up an old scrapbook of greeting cards from the 1930's and 40's - it's a gem! And a couple more books for altering. Mike was checking out the medals in the glass cases. I plan on hitting the stores again tomorrow when they open.

We had our junk food fix for lunch (Wendy's, the new hand mixed strawberry shake was yummy!) and then hung out until time to catch the new Indiana Jones movie. It was a "B" in my book, but Harrison and his leading lady (not the ugly Russian chick) look darn good - maybe there's hope after 50 after all!

We had a lite dinner (still pretty full from popcorn) and settled in for the night. Ahh, air conditioning, a private shower and real mattresses - they feel like luxuries. He does know how to spoil me ;-)

An abundance of sisters

Today is my baby sister, Mary Beth's birthday. MB, for short, is the brightest and most outspoken, which says a lot, being she's one of us! She puts up with us older sisters and a slightly younger brother most of the time. She's always been well-connected (the picture is with the governor of Arizona, Mary Beth is on the right) and passionate about life. Most of all, she works very hard and always give 120%.
Happy Birthday, Little Sister!

Living in small places

There are pluses and minuses to living in a 23 foot 5th wheel that Mike suggested I cover in this blog, in the interest of full disclosure (!) Suffice it to say, being respectful of each other goes a long way.

The RV has about 250 square feet of living space. To put this in perspective, recent statistics reveal that people are increasing their household space per person, not only through larger homes, but primarily because of fewer people per household. The average living space for the poor in the U.S. is 1200 square feet per person. Most of the world's population live in much smaller spaces, even though there was approximately 7 acres of land available on earth per person in 2000 . The recommended minimum living space per person is 3.5 square meters . (I'll let you do the math). Now on to how we live in our small space.

Pluses -

This space is easy to clean. Twenty minutes tops, including mopping the floor and scrubbing the bath and kitchen. Our home is pretty air tight and it's not dusty out here like in the desert. I plan to tackle the windows soon.

Maintenance is pretty simple. Emptying the holding tanks regularly (I put a reminder on my Palm handheld PDA), keeping the pilot light lit for the hot water is about it. When we got here Mike scrubbed the bugs off of the front and I washed down the other areas. The hooks on some of the utility doors are weak and we'll be replacing those. Our tires are new and we aren't covering them here as they get little direct sun.

Small spaces require organization, not one of our's strong points (guess who?) We've added hooks in strategic places and a couple small shelves. The main organization technique is to not acquire any more stuff, and I am constantly purging things I find we don't use. Still, the gazebo, picnic table and vehicles hold their share of items that we don't want or can't fit inside.

Minuses

The one we seem to bother with the most is having only one bathroom. Timing is of the essence, if you get my drift. We keep filtered water in a Britta pitcher in the refrigerator, so a separate filtered water spout on the sink would be handy and would free up refrigerator space.

The living area has a fold out sofa bed and bench dining seats. Neither are very comfortable for two to watch TV. Easy chairs and a movable dining set are on the list for the next RV. So is a pop-out area to widen the space once we're parked. Of course, we could both just loose some weight and passing in the hallway wouldn't be such a tight squeeze!

To get a little separation when we're in the RV at night, I will sit up on the bed while Mike commands the sofa. I bought a "bed chair", a chair back with arm rests, that supports my back while surfing.

So that's a little insight into living in a small RV. A final BIG plus is that we would rather be outdoors exploring, prospecting or sightseeing and after a full day's adventure, it's a cozy spot to come home to.

Old Habits and New Neighbors

I loved playing office when I was a kid and I still enjoy setting up one. The chamber of commerce here needed some help, so I started volunteering with them to get things organized.
It's fun to learn the names of the business in the community and the people who keep things going.
The camp is filling up, now that June is here, and we have new neighbors on both sides of us. It feels a little crowded after the month of May with the wide open sites but we still are surrounded and buffered by trees.

Mike went out today and dredged with the airhose line. He was under water (50 degrees at best!) with his scuba wetsuit, mask, airhose, scuba boots and gloves. He's working out to the channel in the river where the gold is suppose to settle. It took a couple hours to setup the equipment and then a couple of hours in the cold water is about the limit right now. This week's work is practice using the equipment and getting ready for more dredging as the water level continues to go down. He wants me to go and use the sluice to process the concentrates. Maybe tomorrow but for sure by the weekend.

Dinner tonight were grilled pork chops (it's great to grill outside), scalloped potatoes and broccoli. We sure eat a little healthier without easy access to fast food restaurants.

It stays light until about 8pm so I work on my craft projects in the gazebo or fiddle with computer work with the sound of the creek rushing by. Ah, Life!

Trip to Grants Pass

Today we took a trip over to Grants Pass as the road there finally opened. The picture is from the top of the mountain we went over. It was foggy and snow on the ground and giant pine trees.
On the way we went through Kerby, Oregon and stopped at the Burl Gallery. It's an artist's study of burled wood carvings. Check out the slideshow or go to my Photo Albums to see all the neat things they've made. They have wood pieces for sale too.

Grants Pass appears to be larger than Medford and the trip is a little bit shorter and more scenic. I am really enjoying Oregon, as I had never been here before and Mike only came through it a few years ago with Steve.

Route 48 from Happy Camp is normally closed from the first snow until June. There's a large snow skiing area near the top. It's mostly the Siskiyou and Klamath national forest area. There are a few little towns on the way: Cave Junction, Kerby, O'Brien, that will require future exploring. There's also the Oregon Caves Monument that we will check out later this summer.

An interesting bit of history in this area. In the 1940's the southern Oregon and Northernmost California areas were feeling neglected and started a movement to create a new state called "Jefferson". They were ready to secede in 1942 when Pearl Harbor was bombed and with everyone leaving for the war the effort died out. There's still a strong sense of independence in the area today.

Mike's new office

Today we went out to check on Mike's dredge out on the river. He took it down the side of the cliff yesterday and anchored it to some boulders. Here's where he'll be doing some dredging practice for the next week. Click on the slideshow link to the right for an album of photos from the spot.

I'll be crevicing - scraping up sand and loose gravel from the crevices in the rocks where the water flowed over in the past - and running the dirt through a sluice box. Lots of fun!

We've had a bear in camp the past few nights. Some folks shot at it to scare it away as it got into their freezer. The forest service won't trap it, says it's a known problem. I'm more scared of the shooters.

Today being June 1st, the rent was due - $275 for the space and $43 for last month's electric. About $10/day with full hook-ups. I helped the camp host hook up their new printer to their PC and dropped off some old books that the used bookstores wouldn't take. I snagged a Reader's Digest condensed in trade that will make an interesting altered book.

For those of you who bet I wouldn't last a month, here I am!