camping

Camping at Susan Creek, Umpqua National Forest, Oregon: An Engineer’s Perspective

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Here it is! At long last! The last guest blogger’s installment of our camping trip chronicles from earlier this summer. Enjoy!

20150528_150640Hi, my name is Bryan, many of you know me as the devastatingly handsome and exceedingly generous husband of this site’s hostess; Laura, but I like to think of myself more as just another above averagely attractive guy trying to make his way in this crazy world. I’d like to share with you the last leg of our journey through the great wilds of Oregon. There is so much to tell I don’t quite know where to begin. I guess it would be best to begin at the beginning.

The beginning:

After a leisurely breakfast of yogurt and granola, I gave the dogs their second bath in as many days (much to their dismay), and we packed the car, hooked up the trailer, and began our slow but comparatively short drive to Eugene, OR. The weather was so perfect and the scenery was so beautiful as we made our way southwest along the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway and then OR58 to our destination that all the construction delays along the way hardly bothered us.

We arrived in Eugene a little after noon just in time for lunch at an old college favorite of Laura’s, the Glenwood restaurant near the University of Oregon campus. Laura and I couldn’t get over how inexpensive the food was in Oregon, and the Glenwood was no exception. The food was good, and apparently the menu hadn’t changed in the last 15 years. Best of all, we ate on the patio and were able to bring the boys in with us while we ate.

After lunch Laura attempted to give me a tour of campus, but as soon as we stepped foot outside I started sneezing and didn’t stop until we got back in the car and headed on our way. Laura told me after that the local Native American word for the Willamette Valley means “valley of sickness” or something like that. I can’t remember ever having such a strong allergic reaction to any other environment.

So after popping into the campus bookstore and purchasing a tastefully colored hat (see picture below), we got back in the car and took a tour of Laura’s old neighborhood. After several trips around the blocks, we finally located her old house, and stopped to take a look. It was in much better condition than when she was staying there she exclaimed, and got out to take a picture. Just then a girl came walking up the street, eying Laura suspiciously, but after Laura explained that she used to live there when she was in school, she smiled and said lived there now and was a sophomore at the college, and after a little bit of small talk we said our goodbyes and were on our way to the middle bit.

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The middle:

After leaving her old neighborhood, Laura once again punched the coordinates of our next destination into the Google and we were off for Ninkasi Brewing Company. Ninkasi has a lovely patio and the weather as I said before was perfect, but after my allergy attack earlier on campus, we decided to sit inside while we sampled their beer. Ninkasi is currently my favorite brewery, and the visit did not disappoint. The beer we sampled was delicious and we met one of the brewers at the bar and had a lovely conversation about Oregon, Sonoma County, and Mad Max. Unfortunately, we still had quite a long drive ahead of us, so we got back in the car, and Laura drove us the rest of the way to our final camping destination in Oregon; Susan Creek Camp ground on the Umpqua River.

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Susan Creek Campground was much less rustic than the other campgrounds we had visited to this point. The campsites were well manicured, with pavers and decomposed granite throughout. The bathrooms had fully functional toilets and sinks with running hot water, and they even have showers. I must say that first shower after several days of camping is a heavenly experience. There is nothing like crawling into bed nice and clean and relaxed after a long day vacationing.

The next day we decided to try out our new inflatable kayak that we got for Christmas on the nearby Umpqua River. The water was cold, but deceptively calm, and so we put in and clumsily paddled our way a short distance downstream. I heard rushing water ahead so we turned around and made our way back up to calmer water, but after a little more practice, we gained some confidence and paddled our way downstream once more. This time we went a little further and were soon caught up in the current. Once again we decided it would be best to get back to calmer water, but this time our inept paddling had little effect, as we continued to drift with the current towards the increasingly louder sound of rushing water downstream. Frantic now as we madly paddled to escape the clutches of the mighty Umpqua river, and after what seemed like ages, found ourselves once again in calm water and as we dragged our kayak shakily out of the water we were greeted by cheers of Bravo! from a campground above. We returned to our site to find that the entire outing lasted about a half an hour.

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The next day sadly we left Oregon. We drove south on I5 to California, and turned off at Highway 3 at Yreka; made our way through Scott’s Valley and down to the Trinity River. It was a lovely drive that I had never yet taken. There were a few small but charming towns along the way that I had not seen before. I wondered aloud; what does one do for a living way out here. After a longer drive than Laura or I had anticipated we arrived at our destination. The Trinity River where the in-laws were camping with their friends Stanley and Irene.

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The end:

After setting up camp Laura, Stanley, Frank, and I went out fishing on the river. Laura and Stanley in Stanley’s boat, and Frank and I in his inflatable boat. Frank let me drive, and after a few minutes of falling further and further behind to the faster gasoline engine, Frank instructed me to open it up to the maximum throttle which turned out to be about 4 knots upstream. We soon lost sight of Laura and Stanley as we made our way up river. Suddenly the motor cut out vibrating violently and Frank and I came to an abrupt standstill. We fiddled about with the throttle a bit and it seemed to work at lower speeds so we continued our trip upstream to the dam where Stanley proclaimed the fishing to be optimal.

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After about an hour of not catching anything, Frank and I made our way back downstream to camp, making sure to keep the throttle down for fear of breaking down again (I swear I did not break the boat). We eventually arrived back at camp to enjoy a lovely dinner of chicken prepared by Carol and fresh fish caught by Stanley and prepared by Stanley and Irene, a wonderful apple crumble made by my lovely wife, and game of ladder ball in the warm central valley evening. It was a very nice end to our camping vacation. I am very pleased with the performance of our little teardrop trailer, and I look forward to many future trips with friends and family.

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Camping At Mallard Marsh, Deschutes National Forest: A Brown and White Chihuahua Terrier’s Perspective

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Hello Make Room readers. I’ve been asked to recount a portion our camping trip for your reading pleasure. I have graciously accepted the offer and taken time out of my busy day to offer you the following commentary:

It was another long trip in the car. But I didn’t mind.  I had my bed, my dearest love Baby, and both Baby and were turning a delightful shade of dirty grey. My crate was positioned so that I had a view of the passing scenery and could take advantage of the sun:
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Petie was also there, but mostly I just pretended he was a warm throw pillow. My name is Spanky Aspinall-Heinzelman, I am a Chihuahua-Terrier (somedays more one than the other) and the best looking member of my family. My fur is ridiculously soft, my nose and tummy are, what I have been told, a mesmerizing shade of pink and I have a disarmingly endearing floppy ear (which I know how to use to full advantage). I am highly skilled with a tennis ball and have almost mastered the art of Jedi mind control. Soon all the time will be kibble time…

We were headed to our next camping destination. As we drove on the elevation rose and the trees grew closer together, I heard the
Call of the Wild.  The terrier in me longed to run free, chase rabbits, howl at the moon, and then sleep peacefully in my warm comfy bed (okay the last part might be the Chihuahua in me).
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We finally arrived. The air was brisk and cool, I instructed my humans to set up camp while I made myself busy alerting the inhabitants to our arrival and showed Baby the sights. Petie and leaped through the tall grass and chased a RABBIT. A real life RABBIT. Because I was feeling generous I let the rabbit live. I was just settling in, feeling wild,mighty and free when this happened:
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All the wind was effectively taken out of my sails. So much for reconnecting with my ancestral roots. But I was not deterred for long.The next morning I started fresh and renewed with a dust bath. Filthy, sun drenched, satisfied, and surrounded by my favorite items  I eagerly anticipated the day:
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But, yet again disappointment was riiiight around the corner. Just as I thought I’d be getting in the car, adventure bound, I found myself on top of the picnic table being bathed. I am certain I heard that rabbit from the day before snickering. Petie was smirking too, but then it was his turn. Not so smug after that.
I managed to salvage my dignity on the car ride. A mere 30 minutes until we treated the people of Bend to a march around their downtown. Many heads turned as they watched in awe as a most handsome specimen of a dog proudly walk by leading his humans. I would have been more proud if the humans had had a bath. I really don’t understand this hyper concern with my hygiene when theirs really left something to be desired.
We made a few stops in Bend. And the last one Petie and I got out to enjoy a pint at Crux Fermentation Project. Nothing really ends a satisfying day out like a icy cold frosty brew dog.
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As much as I enjoyed Bend, I was pleased to return to camp. Nature was calling. I longed to run free across the marsh and through the Pine forest. It was a little chilly though. And the humans really did need my protection. Certainly I could not let Petie shoulder all the responsibility. It was a hard decision, but in the end I made the sacrifice and curled up in my warm bed tucked up with Baby and my fleecy blanket. Creatures of Deschutes  Forest, we shall meet again.

Camping at Hirz Bay, Lake Shasta, California: A small brown Chihuahua’s Perspective

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I am very excited to make my debut on Make Room! So much so I am shaking RIGHT now. I also shook earlier today when we went to Camping World AND last night when my new giant dog bed came crashing down. But more on that later. My name is Petie Peterson Aspinall-Heinzelman. I am a terrific little guy with a big personality and penchant for the ladies. I also enjoy the constant warmth of a blanket and a lap to go with it. I am incredibly soft and smell great. My people parents really struck a gold mine when they adopted me.

We are on a camping adventure. Right now. I know, its extremely exciting. 24 hour access to my favorite person in the entire world, Bryan Heinelman, 1000’s of new smells, car rides, hunting lizards, laying in the dirt, filthy, sweaty humans that need cleaning. ITS ALL JUST SO EXCITING. Okay, I need to change the subject, I’m shaking again.
We left yesterday morning. At first I was concerned (more shaking). Maybe I wasn’t going with. That happens and it makes me very angry. That morning though I saw Spanky’s crate come out of the bedroom (why do we always take Spanky’s crate?) and I knew it was happening- ROAD TRIP! I’ll be honest, it was a long car ride. And I was forced to poop in some less than desirable locales. Towards the end, and I’m not proud of this, I kind of lost it. Okay, truth, I really lost it and screamed bloody murder the last few miles to our destination. But in my defense enough was ENOUGH. A dog can only ride in a crate with his adopted brother and his adopted brother’s raggedy smelly “baby” for so long.
We got to the campsite and it was warm (my favorite night time temperature), my people made themselves busy readying my new giant dog bed. Spanky and I secured the perimeter and let the dogs in the area know we had arrived. We had our kibble- some new flavor I was a little suspicious of. While I was making my mind up about it Spanky swooped in and finished it. So rude. We really should leave him at home more often.
Then is was bedtime! My absolute most favorite time of the day!
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We all climbed into my new giant  bed, started to settle in, and then CRASH!!!!! My beautiful new bed came crashing down. Dark red liquid rained down all over. My people parents jumped out of my bed. I stayed behind and shook. I heard exclamations, something about a “catastrophic failure”, lots of jostling and Bryan Heinzelman uttered some words I found quite shocking. Fortunately Bryan Heinzelman, besides having a colorful vocabulary, is a god among men and was able to fix my lovely bed. The next morning I saw that this had happened:
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 Apparently the frame isn’t supposed to be all wavy like that. I blame Spanky. That extra kibble he ate put us over weight.
We returned to our blanket-y cacoon to watch this:
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Then, things were pretty much great. I slept wedged between my people blissfully all night. Apart from having to tolerate my lame new kibble AGAIN, it was an excellent morning too. Lots of sniffing, peeing and sitting in the dirt. I felt quite dangerous and wild.
Until we were packing up for our outing. Then all hell broke loose. MORE loud noises, MORE unseemly language from Bryan Heinzelman. I’ll put it down to stress, but he and I are going to have a little chat if this continues. I am a dog with delicate sensibilities. I sent Spanky to investigate while I stayed back in my crate (and shook). He reported back that something on our bed’s hatch had broken. I really don’t know what a hatch is, other than that’s where the treats and snacks and my stupid, embarrassing harness are kept:
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There was a lot of murmuring on the part of my humans and eventually we got in the car. and drove a LONG way to some exotic place called “Camping World”. Various items were purchased. Including a tie out for Spanky and I. So humiliating. Spanky may need to be tied up but I certainly don’t. He’s always ruining everything for both of us…
After being tied up (grrrrrr.), the humans set about fixing my bed permanently. I watched on admiringly; Bryan Heinzelman’s muscles flexed, sweat beaded on his brow as he installed the new jacks. He really is awe inspiring.
Then is was time for a nap. BIG TIME. We all napped in the shade. Well, mostly I kept watch for invaders, but either way it was grand. After dinner, as bedtime approached I started to get VERY excited. Soon it would be time to return to my giant bed. Which is why it was absolutely devastating when I was shoved into this tiny cupboard above MY bed. WHAT WAS THIS NONSENSE?????! I may have uttered a few choice phrases myself. HOW COULD BRYAN HEINZELMAN BETRAY ME THIS WAY????! I could tell he was ashamed- the man could not look me in the eye.
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The next morning it was go time. Camp was packed up under my watchful eye and we hit the road. So far this road trip has earned a B+, more time in my bed, less time in the cupboard could move it up to an A though. I hope you are reading this Bryan Heinzelman….

The Maiden Voyage! Ahoy Matey!

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Welcome to summer! While not the official start of summer, it is for me. With the spring semester coming to a close, Bryan and I took off for some camping in Northern California and Oregon in our new custom teardrop. I know. I never finished blogging about the completion of that project. Yet again work intervened. I duly pledge to tie up those loose ends this summer. But in the mean time, I thought I might entertain you with some camping tales. And who better to regale you than my traveling companions? That’s right Make Roomers, for the first time ever, we have some guest bloggers. Read on this week as our guests share their camping experiences. Cheers all, I wish you many summer adventures!

Teardrop Chronicle #5: Trim Installation and a Few Words of Wisdom

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Two weeks since my last post, largely because much of the past two weeks were spent waiting on the arrival of supplies. And I had to go to work. Work can really get in the way of progress.

While we were waiting though we did manage to finish trimming out the interior and the galley. My dad also made some great progress on the galley cabinetry.

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But first we cut and glued the insulation into place. For this we used 1 1/2″ R TEC for the trailer an 1″ for the hatch, and an adhesive safe for use with polystyrene. Other than covering every surface of the garage with a fine coating of this stuff this portion of the project was fairly hassle free.

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Then we used 1/2″ quarter round to trim the around the bottom of the interior walls, and this really tiny, bendy (and easily broken) quarter round at the top, as well as to frame out the galley corners and counter top. I think maybe we should have soaked it to make it more bendy as it snapped several times while we were installing it, eliciting some “colorful” language from Frank. Fortunately wood filler can hide just about anything. Just don’t look to close.

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We added a piece of trim across the join where our plywood ceiling panels meet too.

 

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Kitchen counter trim.

Last interior project was installing our phone charger. Yes, that is correct, our phone charger! We are super high tech and modern over here. We used a hole saw to drill through a piece of wood that runs across the top of the interior cabinets, about 5 inches out from the back wall, this little hidden compartment hides the wires that we ran through the ceiling and the top of the cabinets to the fuse box inside the cabinet, as well as the back of the charger.

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Then the weekend was over. While I went off to work on Monday and Tuesday, my dad finished the drawers for the galley and installed the rollers. On Wednesday night Bryan came home from Sacramento with two rolls of this:

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The next day I again went to work and the ever industrious Frank and Carol Aspinall came over and secured one sheet of the aluminum over the trailer. The directions that came with our kit state that you should secure it with straps on the trailer and leave it to set for at least 24 hours before securing it permanently. Ever the ones to follow directions (ha!) this is what we did.

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This left us ready to install the aluminium skins on Saturday. While researching methods for how to install the skin there are varying methods suggested. Some sites  recommend gluing the aluminum to the sides and some do not. The concern that the glue creates is as the trailer heats and cools it will contract and expand, causing the glue to pop off of the wood. After talking to Frank Bear (not to be confused with Frank Aspinall) at Vintage Technologies and also with Teardroppers, our kit manufacturer, the consensus was no glue. Instead, they recommended that you “float” the aluminum on the sides.

Before moving on to skin installation, we paused to drill through the skin so that our electrical that we ran through the ceiling can come through and eventually be attached to a battery.

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The tape on the drill bit was to ensure we didn’t drill through the interior Birch plywood.

As is the case when Frank and I start a new phase of the project, we spend a good deal of time discussing the game plan. On this particular day just figuring out which trim piece did what and how to affix each piece took a fair amount of time. It was practically coffee break when we really got going, causing us to stop for a LUNCH break even. This is highly irregular. Fortunately I had some quiche on hand.

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On the left is the trim for the corner, on the right is the trim that will go around the bottom of the trailer.

After much discussion and the application of a plethora of clamps, we began trim installation. You can see in the pictures that the roof is held in place by straps and the sides by clamps as we secured the trim that attaches the roof and aluminium (pronounced AL-OOOO-MIN-EEEE-UM if you are my father) sides to the wooden trailer structure. I know I mentioned in my last post that I ordered all of our trim from Vintage Technologies, but I just have to mention this again. Because Frank Bear was so helpful. I must have been on the phone for 30 minutes with him talking through our project. He made sure we had everything we needed down to fasteners and sealant. He’s based in Michigan and incredibly knowledge about Teardrop construction. Everything arrived quickly and in excellent condition.

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Aluminium side, still in the box.

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Before Screwing the trim to the frame, we applied this rubbery sticky tape like gasket underneath to prevent water leaking through.

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For the trim installation we started on the straight portion of the trailer and pre-drilled only through the aluminium before securing it in place with screws. We then gently bent the trim to follow the contour of the trailer as we went.

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I was  dreading this part of the project. I felt certain it was going to be finicky and difficult to get everything lined up. I’m happy to say I was worried for nothing, it was very straight forward and went quite quickly. Things went so smoothly in fact, Frank found some time to share a little wisdom with me; I asked him to look at something so that he could understood what I meant, he replied, ” We’ll understand the meaning of everything in the end. Even the chaos of the universe”. Wow. I don’t even have to pay extra for these kinds of revelations.

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Around the bottom of the trailer we installed trim as well. The installation was very similar, except without the sticky gaskety thingy (don’t worry if you don’t know what this is- its a highly sophisticated and technical term). When all is said and done, there is a decorative piece that slides in the trim to hide the screws. I’m thinking we’ll wait to install this until we are a little further along.

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We did end up having to work on Sunday. Good thing when you’re not paying your foreman triple time isn’t such a big deal. There were pastries at coffee break though.

Such as it is often the case when one is feeling very pleased with oneself, at the end of Sunday’s work session we were dealt a teeny set back. Remember those pretty drawers from earlier? Well, after we installed the trim we realized this:

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Too bad you can’t even get your hand in there to unscrew the drawer fronts. Well, retired people need to keep their brains stimulated by problem solving right? So much better than a crossword puzzle or Sudoku! Good luck Dad! I’m sure you’ll figure it out by the time I’m done with the work week. If not, no pastries for you next weekend.