Cooking challenges

I don't think I'll ever do my own cooking show but I sure could give some hints on cooking with limited tools! The RV has a 3 burner gas stove that fits 3 small pans in a pinch. The oven below has yet to be turned on and is used to store pots and pans. That leaves the toaster oven for baking. We've also got a small outdoor table grill and a microwave. Tonight's dinner was biscuits and sausage gravy (I married a Southerner, what can I say) and some scrambled eggs on the side. I'll blame it on the toaster oven, but the biscuits turned out a little like hockey pucks. I'm still trying to figure out the best settings for baking. I've only got one small frying pan that I used for the sausage gravy so the eggs were whipped up in a corning ware baking dish. Keep in mind this is all done in about 3 square feet of space!

Mike was out digging most of the day so his appetite was good and he cleaned his plate. The ground where he's digging is quite hard and rocky and he's aching from the effort. Good thing the showers here are hot!

Other people are gradually showing up in the campground. Mostly big Class C rigs (those are all-in-one RVs that you drive and can haul a small vehicle behind).

Yesterday our youngest granddaughter was 2 months old. The picture is from her first week. It's hard to not be near to see her more often. Her Mom tells us she's sleeping through the night already.
There's a couple in camp with two little ones, about 21 months and 9 months old. They have their own enclosed porch outside their mobile home where they can play during the day. They will be a handful as they both get to running about.

Yesterday we picked up our first mail package. It's from our hometown post office and is sent once a week with the past week's worth of mail. The nice part is that the junk mail is not sent so we get just the first-class that we need and magazine subscriptions. So we have all the comforts of home up here without the 100 degree heat!

Volunteering

Today I started volunteering with the 49er's. I spent the morning filing old member records with the help of another volunteer. It was great to have someone to chat with, meet new people, and move around lugging boxes. I've always found volunteering to be a way to learn something new, meet new people and have a purpose to the day. I'll probably continue a few days a week while I'm here. Of course, that meant the laundry didn't get done and I'm going to do a quick dinner.

One of the nicest things about being out here is there's so many less "things" to worry about. I've found there are lots of items I don't need and very little that I miss from home.

Speaking of missing things, I bought a bird feeder basket, about the size of a sandwich, and hung it up in a tree where I hoped to watch the birds. Well, it disappeared overnight, apparently the victim of a squirrel or other tree-climbing thief. The next feeder will be sturdier. I'm also on the lookout for a hummingbird feeder. I'm also collecting rocks to edge our campsite. The nesting instinct must be strong in us humans ;-)

Mike found a second site to do some high banking and will be setting up there tomorrow. He saw some flakes from the first spot, but not enough to make it a keeper. I plan on having some pictures of his setup later this week.

Happy Mother's Day

We went into Medford, Oregon yesterday to do some shopping and spent the night and I didn't take the laptop (I know, shocking, but true!). We returned home about 12:30, it's a 2 hour drive and the last 60 miles along Route 96, or the Klamath River Route, is twisty, turny road that makes it seem much longer. This trip I was a passenger, so I got to take in more of the scenery. At one point we could see Mount Shasta in the distance, covered in snow. I plan to hook up with Cory at Shasta Lake later this month.

The reconnaissance trip to town (my description) was, in retrospect, a little unsettling. After over a week of woods and quiet, Medford was a jolt. We took in some delicious Mexican food at Casa Ramos restaurant but too much of a good thing came back to bite both of us. We found a used bookstore and the ubiquitous Wally World and Costco. Next trip we'll probably come back the same day. Ashland is a little closer and we'll have to check it out on a future trip too.

A friend of Mike's from Stanton is prospecting about halfway to town at the Scott River site so we stopped in and visited for a bit. The Scott River site is dry camping (no electricity, water or sewage hookup) so those staying there are roughing it. His buddy has a solar panel that supplies the electric and the river's close enough to bring up water to be filtered. I'm glad to be where we're at!

Today's Mother's Day and I have to take a moment to remember a good time with my Mom, Mary Jane. We camped our way from Arizona to family back east on more than one occasion and I have to hand it to Mom, she really put up with a lot! Three kids (at the time), a dachshund, and a camp setup made from the back end of a truck. Dad liked going off the beaten path and one time took us off the road in Colorado. I will always cherish the memory of waking up in the back of the station wagon, surround by Aspens, and having Dad bring us hot coffee with lots of milk that Mom had made for us. She always took great care of us kids.

I am truly blessed to now have a daughter and 2 more sons and they as well as number one son, Cory called to wish me Happy Mother's Day. I passed on my good wishes to Helen, Cory's grandmother, and Marilyn, Dad's wife.

The next couple of weeks I'm volunteering in the 49'ers office, so I hope to get to know some of the local folks and meet some of the other prospectors coming to the area.

I made a chocolate cake in the toaster oven to take to the Forest Rangers who let me use their office last Friday for a conference call and it's time to do the icing. More later.