travel

Jul

14

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

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

Hi, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Jul

28

The Teardrop Chronicles #3: Poly, paw prints, paint and plywood

camping / do it yourself / small space / summer / teardrop trailer / travel / Uncategorized Posted by Laura Aspinall / 0 comments

Correction to the correction: Frank Aspinall constructed the trailer chassis (“Give credit where credit is due, Laura”). Concern was also expressed regarding the placement of the correction at the bottom of my last post. Thus, I am placing the correction to the correction at the top this week. More corrections to come, I feel certain.

Another exciting week of progress! Here’s my weekly report out:

Monday

Deviated slightly from the directions today and started work on the interior cabinetry. The kit directions suggest installing the spars that run across the ceiling next, but we decided it would be best to get the cabinets up first (less chance of head bonking- still managed a few though). A few wee measuring issues that were quickly rectified and we had the frame installed. Then measuring for the hinges, partitions and top and bottom of the cabinet.

A visit to Mead Clark for materials for constructing the roll out shelf that will be under the cabinet and we called it quits. Until the sun went down and then I began my polyurethane marathon. That night was only the cabinet frame and top and bottom, but there would be plenty more as week continued.

Tuesday

Frank worked tirelessly on putting the finishing touches on the cabinetry at home in his workshop. I have no pictures to prove this assertion this, but he assures me this was the case…..I did pick up from his house later in the day the cabinet doors and top and bottom so I could continue me poly-fest.

Wednesday

Frank installed the cabinet doors, finalizing the hinges. I trimmed down the veneer that my dad had ironed on to the edges of the cabinet doors and partitions. We then measured to cut notches in the corner of the partitions so they will fit in the cabinet frame- my dad took these home to cut.

And more polyurethane. Additional coats on the cabinet doors, cabinet top and bottom, and then the birch ply for the ceiling. And painting the roll out shelf. Poly as far as the eye could see- I truly ran out of floor space. And just as I thought I was done I watched a small brown and white dog casually stroll right across the middle of the freshly poly-ed plywood. Thank you kind sir.

Thursday

Today we measured and cut the baltic birch plywood we picked up last week to fit the ceiling. This involved the use of many clamps, one of my dad’s faaaaaaavorite things.

Next was probably the most annoying part of our project we have yet to encounter. The roll out shelf. Sounds like not a big deal. That’s what we thought; but getting that thing situated so that it was square to the interior walls turned out to be ridiculously finicky and frustrating. Swear words were uttered. Wall paper was dinged. Shims were employed. And after the fourth or fifth go round it was done.

The partitions for the cabinets, the doors, and the top and bottom were installed and finally the interior cabinetry was complete.

Friday

Besides being stinking hot, Friday was a vast improvement on Thursday. We started by building the frame for the fan and then cutting all the spars to length.

Then it was time to install the ceiling, something I had much trepidation about. If you look back to Teardrop Chronicles #1 you can see in the pictures that the sidewalls each have a groove about two inches down from the edge. This is where the ceiling gets slotted in. Sounds a little easier than it actually is, particularly as one is wielding a 5′ x 5′ sheet of ply. We had partially installed the spars and tightened them down as we got the ceiling it, this turned out to be a good strategy. And apart from cutting the second piece about 5 inches too short, we did a pretty good job. Fortunately this can be fixed by adding another small piece and won’t be visible once the mattress is in place.

Mind the gap…

You’ll note the center opening is larger than the cupboards. This is intentional and will accommodate two chihuahuas and their dog bed.

Aug

01

Vacation Photos- with a twist…

photography / summer / travel Posted by Laura Aspinall / 1 comments

Sticking with the summer theme, lets talk vacation. And what is something almost all of us do on vacation? Take pictures. In the age of digital photography, this translates to taking LOTS of pictures. “capturing the moment” if you are not careful can lead to missing the moment, or maybe if you are lucky, capturing the moment you are missing. Its a delicate balance between being present for the experience that is right in front of you and documenting the moment for the future. I think at the end of the day, what most of us want is to look back at our photos and remember the feeling that we had being in that place.

The staff here at Makeroom (me) would like to help you navigate the tight rope between these worlds with some advice: pick a few subjects to consistently photograph across destinations. Makeroom would love to take credit for this brilliant idea (that will be explained shortly), but alas, credit must go where credit is due. My dear friend Dena Bliss introduced this to me after her trip to Vietnam. Dena, as the imminently organized and artistic person that she is, hosted a slide show of her trip. During the slide show she causally mentioned that no matter where she went in the world there were a few things she always took pictures of: laundry, brooms, and doorways. It was like a fourth of July firework display went off in my brain. What brilliance!!!! What simplicity!! What an easy way to capture the essence or feeling of a vacation or place. Sure, still take pictures of the sites, the family you visit, the friends you make, but maybe you also pick a few more personal items or topics to photograph along the way as well.

This past spring I took a lovely trip to England and Paris. I resolved before I left to try out Dena’s concept. For whatever reasons, the following subject matters made themselves known to me: graffiti, signage/advertisements, dogs, and shoes. Looking for these things to photograph was a fun and interesting kind of travel version of”Where’s Waldo”, it also gave me a lens so to speak to look at the places I visited through. As I put this blog post together, I looked at a lot of photos from my trip. Many being traditional touristy photos, or people I visited. And while these are great and bring back memories, I have to say, that the thematic photos I took evoke the most feeling of the places I visited. For your viewing pleasure I have put together some of my favorite photos I brought home with me. I hope you enjoy them and that on your next trip, be it a day trip to a museum, or a month long stay in the Swiss Alps, you make a little room for yourself to capture the moment to savor long after the luggage has been put away and the credit card has been paid off.