In No Particular Order

We're into Day 8 if you're keeping track. But tonight's episode is brought to you by Days 2 and 3. Because they require the least amount of editing of my notes.

Day 2: Still driving. One of the best things about a road trip is getting reacquainted with old friends. Bob Seger. Billy Joel. Bread. Hootie and the Blowfish. Road trips make paying for satellite radio worthwhile. Remind me to thank Norm for that :)

Camped for the night in Collier State Park Campground (photo 724), north of Klamath Falls, Oregon. I was concerned about being able to secure a tent site (the camp books show the number of tent sites and RV sites and the tent sites are always outnumbered). Turns out we didn’t have to worry – it appears that tenting is a lost art in these parts – we were the only tent in the whole place. I think the guy across the road from us with the big pickup and huge camper trailer got a kick out of our setup. Said he’d never seen a ‘unit’ like that:

 

In the site next to him was a family with four small children who all looked  to be between four and seven years old. One of them was obviously trying out for Forrest Gump II: The Return. Norm noted that the kid had only one speed: on. He’d tear by on a bicycle one way and the next thing you know he’s running by flat out from a different direction. Norm was proven wrong a few roasted marshmallow later. There’s “on” and then there’s “ON” complete with sound effects. Serious props for the mom and dad in that family. Watching them herd those kids, kiss scraped knees and send a boy to the bathroom because “you’ve got a great big stringer of snot hanging from your nose” makes me pretty sure I should get a mother of the year award for prior campouts with my kids. That’s a LOT of work. In any event, they had the kids rounded up and in bed at a decent hour and I was able to roast my own marshmallows in peace. I slept with my head inside the sleeping bag most of the night – it was pretty cold. As evidenced by the skiff of ice on our washing-up water the next morning:

It was a terrific campground for something just off the main highway. And HOT showers. Which was nice, because I wouldn’t want to pull into San Francisco smelling like campfire.  

Day 3 P.S. Somewhere before The Dalles (Moro?) is a deli/convenience store. And for $7.25 you can get a deli sandwich (regular mustard only), some potato salad or a boiled egg, a bag a chips, a piece of freshly-baked cake, and an apple or an orange. All served to you by a lady missing her four bottom teeth in the front. Best potato salad I’ve ever had, and I’m not generally a fan of potato salad in the first place.