Starting the work week

I work part-time for Odyssey HealthCare and do some consulting for the U.S. Food and Nutrition Service , so during the week I go to work. My desk is a folding table in our gazebo screen room and I've got an electric cord from the RV to the laptop. With an ice cooler for a footstool and a camp chair , I can kick back and take care of business.

Before starting work though, I walked into Happy Camp around 9 a.m. After stopping by the Ranger Station for the US Forest Service to pick up a map for Mike, I went to the post office and introduced myself. Next door is Parry's Market where I picked up some fresh veggies for dinner and then walked over to the library. It's only open 2:30 - 5:00 pm Monday through Thursday so I'll catch it later in the week.

Next door to the library I made a new acquaintance and we chatted for awhile. She has apple and pear trees, grapevines and lots of bright flowers. Next time I go in to town, she invited me to tea.

We put out solar lampposts around the gazebo and they glowed softly last night. It cools off to the 50's in the evening and we've got a couple blankets on the bed still. The days are warming up and several of the more permanent campers have started their gardens.

Mike explored the terrain some more today and found a place to do some high-banking. For you prospecting novices, high banking involves putting a motorized wet vac in the water to wash dirt shoveled from the bank of the stream through a sluice box that's set up many feet from the water's edge. The gold settles in the ridges of the box. That's probably not the most accurate description but you get the idea.

Happy Camp is sort of the epicenter of the Big Foot Legend and a statute in his honor is in the center of town. Thought a picture of his handsome visage was called for.

Happy Camp is also known for its jade so I'll be on the look out for green colored stones on tomorrow's walk.

This is the life

Sunday afternoon, sitting in our screen room outside the RV. I'm surrounded by pine and oak trees and the sound of Elk Creek rises up from 10 yards in front of me. Saturday night we drove the mile into Happy Camp to see the art show. A bungalow had been turned into an art gallery and was exhibiting drawings, sculptures and collages by local artists.

The town is tiny; one grocery store, a hardware store, prospecting supply store and the 49er's headquarters plus some odds and ends. The library was closed but Mike guessed we have more books with us than it can probably hold. The locals advised us to head into Medford, Oregon for big shopping and gas, as there's no sales tax. We'll probably do that next week.

Mike's been out scouting the claims, seeing which ones he can get to and where the high banker can be set up. The creeks and river are running high with spring runoff and several of the roads are pretty steep. We'll get some pictures and share them soon.

I took a walk to the entrance to camp, it's a short uphill walk through the 25 or so camp sites here. We've got a laundry, showers and rec room and a swimming hole down the hill from our spot.

I've got a pot roast in the crockpot for dinner and plan to take a nap until then.

The trip to Happy Camp

We've started our summer in California with a 3 day trip from Phoenix. Our first stop was Edwards AFB, a nice, clean, safe spot in the Mojave Desert. The Famcamp welcomes retirees. We'd been beaten up all day by the wind across the desert and it was great to stop for the night.

I picked up a bug of some sort and was feeling woozy (maybe it was the wind rocking the 5th wheel through the night?) but solidered on and we spent the 2nd night in Lathrop, meeting up with Nancie for dinner at the Texas Roadhouse.

Wednesday we set off for Happy Camp, up I-5 through Sacramento, Redding and Yreka. Happy Camp is about 80 miles west of Yreka on Route 96 which runs parallel to the Klamath River. We have fantastic views of Mount Shasta, covered in snow (didn't get any pictures, though). We arrived by 5:30 pm, did a hasty setup and settled in for the night.