Wow, Just Wow

 Heat in Canada, can you believe 118F.

By shear luck we are parked in one of the few places in the West were the Temps are livable. We were originally booked to spend the month of June in Rouge River State Park just outside Medford, Oregon where it was well over 100F over the weekend. I'm not sure how hot the weekend was here but it was very comfortable both day and night. Just over the front range a totally different story.

Over the weekend Cape Lookout State Park had to close the day use area before noon and only let in new folks as others left. Many Oregon homes do not have AC and the only good options are to head for the coast or a hotel. 

It may be time to sell the Tucson house while we can.

ken

Maggie and Cape Meares

 While Portland, Oregon is forecast to be over 100F over the next few days, on the coast not too far West the WX is cool and close to perfect. Here is a photo of the coast to the North side of Cape Meares from close to the Lighthouse.

Maggie loves it here with daily walks on the beach. Her favorite activity is retrieving rocks from tide pools. 

 

She is showing her age, this my be her last rodeo.  Where before she could retrieve 10 lb rocks now about the heaviest is 4 or 5 lbs. Whatever she is having a great time and we are enjoying her joy. 

MsBubba and I got a kick out of a "heat advisory" for Pacific City when the forecast high for the day is 77F.

ken

Happy Juneteenth

 It is finally here. Although I've advocated for a Juneteenth holiday for years I never thought I would live to see it happen. Oh happy day!

I was first aware of Juneteenth because back in the 50's My Dad's shop handyman always had June 19th off. When I asked about it I was told Juneteenth was a Negro holiday. I didn't think too much about it at the time but once in college I learned Juneteenth celebrated General Granger freeing the Texas slaves a couple of years after the end of the Civil War.

In a just world June 19th would be on a level with July 4th because like July 4th celebrates our freedom from British rule, Juneteenth celebrates our freedom from the rule of slavery, of our nation taking the first step towards living up to "The Declaration of Independence".

Happy Juneteenth everyone,

ken

Camp Host Gig

I'm not sure how other states approach volunteer Camp Hosts but with Oregon it is a pretty formal process with background checks and lots of online learning. Once on the job each State Campground sets the job as needed for that Campground.

Our current assignment is Park Maintenance and cleaning Yurts after use. I have a nice "Zero Radius" mower to ride and the Yurt cleaning is about 15 minutes per. We usually spend 3 to 4 hours a day piddling at both jobs. One thing stands out, about  95% of the campers leave the camp sites and Yurts as found, the other 5% or so not so much.

One of the major reasons I did not bring the workbench this time was the time needed for Camp Host duties, it was a smart move. The Host duties take just enough time to care for boredom but not enough to be a problem and the social life among the Hosts is very nice.

For folks of a certain age (retired) it is a great deal. First, you get a prime campsite with full hookups for the duration of your hosting duties plus free sites while in-route. One of the big problems with RV'ing is both the cost and availability of parking places. Last Summer we had to move sites every second or third day and a few times every day even while remaining in the same campground. While changing sites in a motorhome is easy compared to other RV's it is still a PITA.

Bottom line there is a chance we may become "full timers" and as one of the hosts put it "follow 60F to 70F WX around the States", camp hosting where we can. If you enjoy social life and do not want the solitude of Boondocking, Camp Hosting can be a cheaper way to full time RV living. 

See you guys on down the road,

ken

Cape Lookout, Oregon

 When we first started planing the Summer trip, our plan was to Camp Host for a month in five different Oregon State Parks. That changed once in the Cape Lookout State Park. The Park Ranger offered us four months Camp Hosting in the same camp site.  A beautiful place with cool WX even mid Summer, no diesel fuel to get to a new camp and no breaking and re-setting up camp for four months. Yes was a no brainer.

The view of Cape Lookout from one of the cabins:

We are in what is known as "June Gloom", drizzling rain most days for at least a few hours but instead of the Tucson 100F+ temps we have temps in the mid 60's. 

 

We have been offered a Camp Host position and accepted a return for four month starting June 2022. 

 

This retirement thing ain't all bad :-).

 

ken