The Camping Year of 2010 comes to an end

Today I removed the 2 batteries from our 5th Wheel, and put it into "Winters Sleep" here in the Pacific Northwest. Although Karen and I were trying to camp at least once each month in our HitchHiker trailer this year, the holiday rush just caught up to us, and we will not be able to finish one last trip before the new year of 2011 arrives.

Here are a few statistics from our 2010 Camping Trips:
We camped 12 different times this year, from Southeastern Oregon, to Eastern Washington, and places in between.

We stayed in 4 State Parks, 4 RV Resorts, 2 County Parks, and 2 Bureau of Land Management Campgrounds (BLM Campgrounds)

We spent 42 nights in the trailer this year.

We spent $996.24 on camping fees, which is an average of $23.72 a night

We traveled 2894 round-trip miles from home, to the campgrounds, and back home. This did not include the side-trip mileage we drove while at the campgrounds sightseeing.

Thank you one-and-all for following along with us this year on our outings. The new year is just around the corner, and our adventures will continue, so get ready to follow along.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

-Gary, Karen, and Abby Too!-

November 2010 Camping Trip

Just because the weather gets colder, and the sunlight during the day is shorter, doesn't mean that you can't head out to the Oregon coast for a little R & R. Yeah... we only saw the sun one day out of the 5 days we were there, but we still enjoyed each others company and spent time walking Abby, watching movies, reading books, and checking out our favorite shops in the Newport area.

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Our waterlogged site - C6

The backside of our site

Abby really likes this campground very well, and knows all the short-cuts to the beach. She loves running ahead of Karen and I on the sandy trails to the ocean, and pops up to see where we are, or runs back to hurry us along. We got lucky for a November day at the beach, in that we had the whole beach pretty much to ourselves... with Sun! Abby ran and played to her hearts content.

Common guys... were almost there!


Our rewards... Sun, Sand, and Solitude


Karen and Abby enjoy the Sun & Surf

Karen and I also explored some new trails this time, and actually got to see 4 Mule Deer and some Bear scat. Karen wasn't too excited about the latter, but we did meet up with some "Fun Guys" (fungi) on our trek. Here's one of them in the next picture.

There's no place like Knomb... but we didn't see any. :-)

Along with the wetter weather is the fog that hugs the coastal regions. That's the perfect time for some great photo opportunities! So off we went looking for some interesting pictures, and we found some we thought you'd enjoy.

Docked fishing boats in the approaching fog


The Yaquina Bay Bridge - A bridge to nowhere

Thanks for following along with us. We're looking forward to heading out again next month for another adventure. In fact, we'll get a chance to try out our small Christmas Tree for inside the trailer.

Safe travels... and Happy Trails to you.

-Gary, Karen, and Abby Too!-

September - (Trip #2) / October 2010 Camping Trip

Fall camping in Oregon can be a real treat if the weather is good, and Karen and I hit a lucky streak this past week. Not one drop of rain the entire outing, and the daytime temperatures got up into the mid to low 70's. Perfect for still being able to wear shorts, and even better at night when the temperatures got cooler, as we could enjoy the warmth of a campfire. We'd planned this trip in November of 2009 with our friends Dave & Sandy, as we both love this place for camping. Large camping sites, full-hookups, great hiking trails, and the North Santiam River to explore and water Abby (let her swim). At this time of the year, the Santiam river is running with salmon on their way to the spawning beds, as well as the trout that frequent these waters. Thus the name "Fisherman's Bend".

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The North Santiam River Overlook by camp

Fall colors are just starting to show

It happened that we were about 10 minutes late arriving at Fishermen's Bend, as most of their "double" camping sites are first come first served. The man right before us took the last "double" site. This left us no choice but for each of us to get a single site. Dave & Sandy ended up with site #5, and Karen and I were able to occupy the larger "Camp Host" site, as they had just left for the year.

Our Campsite - #1 (The "Camp Host Site)


Off Duty... but some people couldn't read

As you can guess... we actually ended up playing "Camp Host", as several people knocked on our trailer doors asking questions, or wanting to buy the stacks of wood available for campfires. Karen and I joked that instead of the normal $5.00 per cart wood cost, that we should charge $20.00 instead... thus paying for our camping trip and perhaps a Pizza Dinner at a local eatery. :-) We ended up having to place a towel over the "Camp Host" sign, and this at last gave us some privacy as the other campers finally left us alone.

Fire wood carts $5.00 (we wanted to charge $20.00)


Our very own Amphitheater. The trailer is on the other side of the screen.

As usual, we explored the trails and local wildlife in the area. We'd camped here earlier this summer, and a Cougar had been spotted in the thick brush and forested area. The warning signs were along the trails, but what we saw later in the week... (a Large Hairy Upright/Walking Beast) stunned us all! :-O More about this later.

Cougar Sighting

Abby & I on one of the beautiful hiking trails... here kitty kitty kitty


Spider web in the trees


Domed spider web on the forest floor

Ferns growing on an oak tree


The sunlight breaking into the forest darkness


Fungi growing on a log


Winters coming... better hide that peanut

Our son Kevin and his wife McKenzie had decided to head out for a camping trip in their newly purchased trailer, for their second trip. They'd made reservations at Fisherman's Bend, and none of us knew that each of us were going to be there at the same time. We arrived on Wednesday, and they arrived on Friday. What a hoot!

Kevin & McKenzie's campsite. Kevin works on the campfire

One afternoon, Karen and I heard a woman screaming... followed by another blood-curdling scream... and another. Something had definitely scarred this woman... but what was it? Perhaps the footprints at the local "Nature Exhibit" could share some light on this subject. I do see a small human sized foot print (upper left)... but what could have made that larger footprint to the right of it? Could it have been "BIGFOOT"! :-O

What a curiously LARGE foot print...


Yep... that's "Bigfoot" giving me the "thumbs-up" sign! (Yes Kevin... we all know you'd have punched him if he's come anywhere near you or your campsite)


Getting ready for the next filming

Ok... ok... so it was really a park ranger in a really bad gorilla suit, but if you saw this coming through the woods at you, you'd be screaming like a little baby too (right Kevin)! :-) Actually... some of you may have read my posts about "Bigfoot" last year at this same campground. The BLM is filming a movie (staring "Bigfoot"), that's going to be used to teach kid's about the care of the forests and not cutting down live trees for firewood, picking up trash, and respecting other campers. I just happen to catch this "Bigfoot" between movie shots. :-)

Well... that wraps up this trip. Abby seems to know this campground as well, especially all the short-cuts to the river and her favorite swimming holes. Even though she has dysplasia of her hips and a fused spine, we still let her swim just a few times. We can't let her go on like she used to when she was younger, but she loves the water... and after all, she's on a "vacation" with the rest of us as well.

A simple stick, a river, and a Labrador Retriever. Life is good!

Thanks for checking in on our adventures and camping trips. Life is just too short not to enjoy every day of it! Happy Trails...

-Gary, Karen, and Abby Too-

September 2010 Camping Trip

Karen and I just returned from hosting a 6 day NuWa (sounds like "New-Way") HitchHiker Rally in Prosser, Washington. "HitchHiker" is the brand name given to our 5th Wheel Trailers made by NuWa. All of the people attending this rally were members of the "NuWa Owners Forum" that I help to administrate on the Internet. This ended up actually being an "International Rally", as one of our attending couples were from Canada, and others came from as far away as Texas, Minnesota, and other reaches of the United States. The name of our rally was called "The Pacific Northwest Rendezvous", and took place in the wine country of Eastern Washington State. In total, we ended up with 25 Trailers and 49 people! We also had 4 other members drop in while in the area, so that they could meet up with members for the first time and just say hello.

What ended up being very convenient, was that 8 wineries were within a 10 minutes walk from the RV Park we were staying at, which made it very nice for wine tasting. No need to worry about Drinking & driving! :-)

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Our Site #40


Wine Country RV Park - Prosser, WA


Another picture of the Park

The first day's arrival for most of the members, was just a "Meet & Greet" that evening, but the following 4 days were filled with breakfasts and potluck dinners. We even had "Themes" for most of our potluck dinners (Hawaiian, Mexican, and a Cowboy night). For one of the morning breakfasts, Karen and I cooked a 3 - Dutch-Oven "Mountain Man Breakfast" for the whole group, and 2 other members made Buttermilk Pancakes and sausage, biscuits and gravy! I don't have to tell you that we all ate VERY well!

Debbie (center) gives me a hug during Hawaiian Night. She is currently just finishing up a 48 State Journey by herself across the country (she started in Spring), and was nice enough to make it to our Rally for 5 days before continuing on to finishing up her last 4 states.

Abby (left) got to meet Debbie's traveling companion "Hunter". All they wanted to do was play.


Dave showing off his Coconut Bra for Hawaiian night

Mexican Night Potluck


Karen and I at a potluck meal. Note the FREE book exchange behind us, so that all our "Full-Time" traveling friends could get some different reading material.


The winning "Dressed Couples" for Mexican Night (Terry & Linda from Canada)

There was one afternoon that we had our own Wine & Beer tasting event, complete with Cheese & Crackers and an assortment of Hor'dourves


Making the Dutch-Oven "Mountain Man Breakfast"... and a real Mountain Man (Vern) showed up wearing his real "Buckskin" shirt


While I worked with the Dutch-Ovens, Annie made her "homemade" Buttermilk Pancakes for everyone.

We got very lucky with the weather, and were able to eat all of our meals outside (both breakfast and dinners). This also made for some beautiful sunsets and sunrises every day. Here are a few evening pictures below.

One colorful Sunset!

The Moon over HitchHikers

And of course... what would be a trip without our "sidekick" Abby.

Abby with her "Buddy Glo-Ball"

During the last evening of the Rally, two September Birthday's were honored (Dutch's and mine). Dutch got a really nice Birthday cake from his wife Diana, and the members of the Rally presented me with a gift as well (see below). A couple of years ago, some members of our Forum bought two "Rubber Chicken" traveling companions, which were named "CD" (Chicken Debbie) and SD (Surfer Dude). These chickens have traveled all over the United States (including Alaska & Canada), and at each Rally that they show up at, their numbers seem to grow (complete with baby chicks still in diapers). My "surprise" Birthday gift form the members were ALL of the Chickens together!. Now I've got to come up with a plan to "Pass Them Along" to some other unsuspecting suckers! :-) Beware... Christmas is coming. Ho-Ho-Ho & Cluck cluck!

(Left to Right): SD (Surfer Dude), Earlvis, Papa Murray, CD (Chicken Debbie) & Chicks in diapers.

WOW!!! What can we say... what an absolute blast! Unfortunately all good Rally's must come to an end sometime, but we got to meet up with old friends (members we already knew) and made new friendships with the newer members we just met for the first time. Now there are HitchHikers heading off to points across the whole country. Some are just returning from 4 months up in the Arctic Circle and Alaska, while others will continue heading South to the warmer climates of California and Arizona for the approaching Fall & Winter seasons. For Karen and I, this was just another exciting camping adventure that we got to share with lot's of great people! We also got introduced to "Duck Farts" by Murray, Shelle, Joan, and Rich. I must say that we both slept like babies our last night at the Rally! :-)

Happy Trails... and safe journeys.

-Gary, Karen, and Abby Too-

August 2010 Camping Trip - #1

One of our enjoyable summertime camping areas is along the Oregon coast. Beautiful scenery, lot's of fun shops to browse, and fantastic sea food (if you know where to go) for a quick lunch or sit down dinner. The added bonus of camping along the coast in the summer, is that the temperatures can be 30 - 40 degrees cooler than in the Willamette Valley just 50 miles inland. We actually got lucky on this camping trip, and had temperatures in the high 60's to low 70's with blue sky and sunshine. The afternoon wind made an appearance every day, but it was ideal conditions for spending time with loved ones at the beach.

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Our Campsite - D14

Our son and daughter-in-law (Kevin & McKenzie) just recently purchased a used trailer (new for them), and were actually camped already at South Beach, but encouraged us to come join in with them on their "maiden voyage", so we did. Kevin and I got to cover all the "Guy" stuff with trailers, and Karen and McKenzie covered all the "Women" stuff (what ever was left over). :-)

Kevin & McKenzie's New Trailer


A 2007 Fleetwood Mallard Sport 18
(Complete with Oregon State Beaver Stickers!)

When we weren't covering the finer points of RVing or relaxing, we took in the sites in the Old Town sections of Newport, OR. We watched the California Sea-lions on the boat docks, gazed at salt-water taffy being made, had some ice cream and cruised the waterfront shops.

Kevin & McKenzie checking out the sea-lions

Nap time in the Sun


McKenzie & Karen were just like two kid's in a candy shop


And here's what they were watching... the salt-water taffy being rolled and wrapped into small bite size pieces


A beautiful day at the bay in Newport, OR

Of course we also made sure we "watered" Abby, and enjoyed some fine dinners together back at camp. Kevin & McKenzie impressed us with some fine Dutch-Oven Chicken Enchiladas, and Karen and I reciprocated with some Bar-B-Qued steak. Food tastes so much better outside!

Watering Abby

Dutch-Oven Chicken Enchiladas

Steaks on the Barbie

On another day, we toured the Rogue Brewery located on the Newport Bay, and came away with "interesting" refreshments for happy hour. Below are the pint samples we tried: Honey Orange Wheat Ale, Northwestern Ale, OREgasmic Ale, and a Chocolate Stout.

Two of the four pints we bought


The last two pints

One of the last teaching's for Kevin & McKenzie's new trailer, was the proper use of the Dump Station. As all first times go... it was an "eye opener", but luckily no problems occurred (no drips no run's and no errors)! It was a successful emptying of both the Black & Grey Water tanks.

Connecting the hose for the first time

Unfortunately... with every camping trip, an end to all the fun must come. Kevin & McKenzie had to return back home with work calling the next day, and Karen and I returned to the last of our summer projects for the house and yard. It was fun helping both Kevin & McKenzie get started on their trailer camping experiences, and both of us enjoyed the excitement McKenzie & Kevin shared with dreams of their future trips. :-)

Life's a Beach... take time to walk bare-foot in the sand!

Happy Trails and smooth sailing on your next adventures...

Gary & Karen, and Abby Too