April 2012 - Camping Trip - #1

The new year is here... and we finally made it out on our first camping trip of 2012 with our friends Jim & Linda, and Glinda & Tim.  We all camped at River Bend, which is a wonderful Linn County Park within an hours drive from home.  With the cost of fuel and diesel being what it is right now, it's a blessing to have such wonderful campgrounds so close to us.  On this trip, we ended up camping in the "newer" section of River Bend which opened up last summer.  The sites are larger and wider, making it much nicer for camping.  Of course our first two days were met with rain showers on and off, but that's just typical weather this time of the year.  The weather eventually cleared up, and we finally got to see some Sun.  

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Our Campsite - F9

 

Our HitchHiker 5th Wheel Trailer... "Home away from Home"

  

An Osprey Nest behind our camping site

While walking Abby our first day in camp, we discovered an Osprey nest very close to our camping site.  It was raining the day we discovered it, and the Mom & Dad Osprey were teaching a youngster how to fly from the next.  I was hoping to catch a picture of the "loud" family, but a just few days later... the nest sat empty, and all the occupants had all flown away.

Karen and I finally got to hike the many trails around River Bend (once the Sun came out), and saw many of the early Spring flowers and Trillium's starting to appear.  

The South Santiam River... and a small waterfall

A beautiful Trillium in bloom

  

A fern just getting ready to open up

  

Pinks & Greens

  

Little white flowers blooming among the shamrocks

  

Abby cooling off and getting a drink in the river

On our last night in camp, Abby had to go outside to run to the bathroom at around 3:30am.  When I walked outside with her, the sky was filled with "Billions & Billions" of stars (my bad impression of Carl Segan).  I decided to try some Nighttime Star Photography, which I'd never done before.   But with the Milky Way band of stars so visible in the dark sky, I had to give it a try.  Below are some of my results... and the image with a red light, is just me playing around with a laser pointer that was built into the flashlight I was using.

 The BIG Dipper behind our trailer

 Playing with a red laser

 The Milky Way Stars

More Milky Way Stars

It looks as though the new camping year has started out well... with more fun adventures around the corner yet to come.  Thanks for taking the time to travel along with us on our trips, and we look forward to seeing you all down the road in the future.  

Happy Trails...

Gary & Karen... and Abby Too!

July 2011 - Camping Trip - #1

SUMMER is finally here!!!

In an unlikely event, this recent camping trip had not one drop of rain involved. This was the first camp out this year that the rain did not make an appearance. We had warm weather, sunny sky's, and nice friends to share our experience with... Jim & Linda (and Cirby too) from Albany, OR. This was our second camping trip together with Jim & Linda (we'd camped previously at Fisherman's Bend with them, along with Dave & Sandy), and we had a great time, even going out to dinner one evening at The Point Restaurant by Foster Lake. Great food, salads, and killer beer battered mushrooms!

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Site - 2A

Karen & Abby playing at the South Santiam River

Karen and I had stayed at the River Bend County Park once before a few years back (during the Winter), and they've just recently opened up a newer addition of this park in June. The newer side has larger sites, wider driveways, and more grassy areas. They still provide Water & Electric (30-50amp), but no sewer connections are available (just like the older side). A dump station is conveniently located on your way out of the campground. There is no doubt that on our next visit here, we'll be staying over in the E-F-G loop areas!

New Campground Sites - F20
(Water & Electric Only)

Three miles farther down the highway near Cascadia Park (heading East on Hwy 20 out of Sweet Home, Oregon), is the "Short Covered Bridge". This bridge spans the South Santiam River, was built in 1945, and was a favorite swimming area when I was in High School. I dare say, that yes... I'm guilty of stupidly jumping off of this bridge (on more than one occasion) into the deep pool below during those younger summer days in my life. :-) These pictures were taken about a half hour before sunset one evening.

The "Short Bridge" built in 1945

On the trail down to the river

Evening time reflections

As usual, our time away on these outings always seems to fly-by all to quickly, and the reality of Karen still working after 30 years at Good Samaritan Hospital, comes into play. One of these days our trips will become larger in distance and time, but for now, quite local getaways with family and friends remind us just how lucky we really are, in being able to enjoy the beauty of a rolling river or the serenity of an evening sunset. Oregon has so much to offer, and we're only more than happy to seek out it's special places. :-)

Wild daisies along the trail

The South Santiam River in camp

Abby enjoying one of her many walks on the trails

Until the next time, happy trails to all of you, and enjoy your own summer fun and adventures! Thanks for coming along Buckaroos.

Gary, Karen, and Abby Too!

February Camping Trip - 2

This was our first time staying at the "River Bend Park". We had stopped several times before checking out this newer campground, but we'd never camped here. We ended up getting a very nice camp site (8-D), that was close to the South Santiam River that surrounded the campground.

Camp Site # 8-D

At night, the temperatures dropped below freezing, so we did get the chance to use our trailers furnace. During the daytime, we mostly just used a ceramic electrical heater to keep us comfortable. We also enjoyed the huge nature trail around the whole park, as we once again had the whole park to ourselves (other than the one camp ranger who lived at this park).

Karen and Abby by the river.

This is a very nice campground... one we'll be staying at again in the future.

-Gary-