We have been having conflicting feelings in regard to a winter trip to the south land of California and Arizona. There are lots of worries about our competence to travel with advancing age, Buster's new travel anxiety, and the Zion's ability to carry us for months on end. A call from our friend Glenn revealing his location, prompted us to make a rendezvous at Summer Lake. A quick trip to test out all systems before a possible departure in a couple of weeks sounded like a great idea.
Greenwater Park Rest Area
campsite on Anna River
We made a quick pack-up and left Salem Saturday afternoon, making our stop for the night just outside of Oakridge at Greenwater Park Rest Area. This is a great stop for those traveling Highway 58 over the Willamette Pass. The Greenwater Park is also an eBird Hot Spot, so we always make a bird list when we stop. We had a quiet night, with good cell service, and antenna TV.
Our meet-up spot for Sunday was the Summer Lake Rest Area, an all time favorite of ours. An in-route call from Glenn let us know that he had spent the night there and was now set up in a campsite in the Summer Lake National Wildlife Area. After a stop at the Summer Lake Store for gas we traveled on to find Glenn in a nice area along the the Anna River.
Jeanette & Glenn
Camping with Glenn is always great fun and we enjoy birding together. In the afternoon he took us on a little driving route and we got in a great bird list, which you can see with photos here.
Camping with Glenn is always great fun and we enjoy birding together. In the afternoon he took us on a little driving route and we got in a great bird list, which you can see with photos here.
Monday we stopped for breakfast at The Lodge at Summer Lake. Glenn headed for Eugene, and we traveled to Bend where we had at great lunch with my brother Mark and his wife Holly. In the afternoon we got as far as Sisters, and getting tired, we decided to try the Creekside Park Campground. This was a real delight. There were lots of sites, the camp host was done for the season, but a friendly camper helped us with the registration process. We selected site #22 which a large green grass area. With the Senior Discount is was fifteen dollars for a no-hookup RV site. The park also features free WiFi, dump station, freshwater fill, hot showers, and a dish washing station. And all this is with in walking distance to restaurants.
Tuesday morning we drove over the Santiam Pass and home to Salem, completing a four day three night test trip. In review, the van performed well, climbing the passes with out effort. We traveled over 400 miles and we found the driving comfortable. The kitchen arrangement still needs some tweaks. The sleeping arrangement has more adjustments to make. The Buster dog, well he needs more walks during the driving time. We drove over 100 miles each day, our goal for our winter wandering is 50 miles, leaving more time everyday to walk and bird.
Tuesday morning we drove over the Santiam Pass and home to Salem, completing a four day three night test trip. In review, the van performed well, climbing the passes with out effort. We traveled over 400 miles and we found the driving comfortable. The kitchen arrangement still needs some tweaks. The sleeping arrangement has more adjustments to make. The Buster dog, well he needs more walks during the driving time. We drove over 100 miles each day, our goal for our winter wandering is 50 miles, leaving more time everyday to walk and bird.
Glad your home safe! Birding at Summer Lake was awesome. I'd like to meet there again when dikes are open!
ReplyDeleteNice to see you two meeting up and birding with Glenn. Hi to all. Thanks for your wonderful blog.
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