Boondocking Fun

Lava Caves

We have been motoring around a bit since my last entry, and haven't ended up staying in any one place for too long.

It was my birthday on the 8th, so we decided to splash out a bit on the place we stayed. To compensate for this, we stayed in some cheaper sites on the way over. We stayed in a campsite with no hookups (boondocking as it shall be called from now on) for $5. It was great - it was one of 6 campsites that you could still have a fire in as there is a big drought at the moment causing raging fires throughout national parks. There weren't
many people around so we could play our music without worrying we were upsetting the neighbour's chihuahua. It was our first boondock too, and apart from the fridge not working, it went great. We have come to realise that this RV is temperamental. If it doesn't feel like doing something, we don't push it. It is made by a company called Damon, which has inadvertently become the name for the vehicle. Well, more precisely, Matt Damon said with the inflection of a special needs deaf child. Anyone who has seen Family Guy may know this reference, if not, it's not the slightest bit funny, sorry. Any time we refer to the Rig, it is said with that inflection and we know it's a vehicle only a mother could love.

NOT our private creek

After Skull Hollow Campground (cool name, huh?) we made our way to Camp Sherman. We had booked an RV site that said it had its own private creek, which sounded lovely. There was also a highly recommended restaurant nearby with a menu that was screaming "eat me!" to both Dave and I. We got to the park and realised the spot was not quite as private as we thought, and our private creek had a bunch of white trash floating in it. Despite being the most expensive campsite, oh, sorry, resort, we stayed in, it had the least amount of character. It was pretty, but that was about it. We hiked a bit, which has become our new favourite pastime (because it's free!), and then went out for dinner. It wasn't everything we had hoped for unfortunately. My Dad had been kind enough to try and pay the bill for us, but he was a day too late, and I'm glad his money wasn't wasted. It may just have been the night because the menu was incredible, really well thought out with some unique ingredients. It just lacked love and attention to detail. The steak and potatoes were undercooked, the mash was undermashed. The cocktails were fantastic though! Luckily they forgot to put these on our bill, and we didn't rush to tell them of the error. My actually birthday was spent hiking and drinking, with a dinner of roast potatoes and neither of us can remember what else. So, obviously more drinking and potato consumption. We realised a couple of days into travelling that we had a combi-microwave, which pleased us no end because we can still cook in an oven. And a combi oven makes fucking amazing roast potatoes. Just saying.

Guns AND Liquor!

After this we stayed in a little RV park just off the road in a place called Crescent. The camp host told us that everything in the town shuts down at 6, so if we needed anything, make sure to get it before then. She pointed us in the direction of a liquor and ammo store and said it was a must-see. Dave had already clapped his eyes on this shop and had every intention of giving it a visit. So, we went to a local bar, had a beer, and then off to the guns and liquor shop! Walking into these shops is always a bit of a gamble. Gun enthusiasts have very little time for people who aren't serious about guns and they make no bones of giving the look of "What the hell do  you want?" Luckily, this shop was nothing like that, and they were extremely friendly. They had a great selection of liquor and an even better selection of guns. They had beautiful rifles and a very scary looking handgun that could take bullets from a shotgun. Hunting with a handgun anyone? The guy behind the counter said that he is one of two left in the country who sell guns and liquor. The other one is in Arizona, if anyone wants to have a look.


We stayed in Crescent because it was on the way to the Lava Caves, which we visited the next day. We stupidly didn't bring coats with us to the cave, and thought we would be able to handle it. Which we did. But
we dutifully complained at decent intervals the way any good English folk would. It was an impressive cave and took about 40 minutes to walk to end of. We had our lantern and a torch, neither of which provided enough light to look into the nooks and crannies, but we had fun.

We went on to Lemolo Lake, thinking we would be able to get wifi to send a bunch of emails etc, only to find out that there was not only no wifi, but no phone reception either. It was a beautiful lake which was distinctly unpopulated. We went for a swim on
our first day and waded through algae which were later told was a bit toxic. But eh, we're still alive! We hired out paddle boats the next day and took a couple of beers and a packed lunch for the paddle round the

lake. We made our way around most of it before losing steam (running out of food and beer) and decided to head home. Some very kind neighbours gave us watermelon that they couldn't get through. Being just two of us, we couldn't get through all of it either, so we made a cocktail. And you know what? A watermelon+mango+vodka=very good. I seem to be giving the impression, however, that all we do is drink. I would like to correct this. Our day may be punctuated by a well placed/timed beverage, but it is not the topic of the day. It is merely a moment where we take a break, take stock of our good fortune, and relish each other's company during a contemplative sit down.

We moved just down the road to a site with no hookups, but half the price and our actual own private beach and a view of the lake. We wanted to hike a bit more and were told about some waterfalls along a trail. We found the trail, and kept coming across little waterfalls, and the English in us thought that was it. We forget that America does everything on a grander scale, and I'm glad we continued walking until we found Lemolo Falls - just  small waterfall by American standards. When we got back we had fun feeding the most precocious chipmunks I have ever seen. We had baked some rolls that were going hard, and I had started feeding this to the little guy. When he wandered off I put the roll down and went in the RV. He came up, grabbed the whole bloody roll and managed, with great difficulty, to run off with the offending article. It had me in stitches, but to get back at him, I got a picture of him licking his balls. So there, mister chipmunk, loads of people have seen you licking your nuts! 

All of this was leading us toward Crater Lake, where we were hoping for some hookups and some internet. I've been quite excited about visiting Crater Lake, and it didn't disappoint. The roads literally skirt the rim of the crater, and I was driving. I was sweating as I could see the sheer drop with no wall and a tiny road ahead. It reminded me of the buses I took with my parents on the Greek islands. You're sure you're going to go over, and the only comforting thought is that the bus does it every day and hasn't had an accident. Or has it? We filed up behind cars to get up to overlook points and all that fun herding stuff. But we finally made it to the lodge and started searching for a parking space. The second time round I tried to squeeze in between 2

other RV's with little success. A guy comes bounding over saying he will pull forward - he was from the trailer in front. We parked up and got our hiking gear on. We were going to take one of the 'moderate' hikes, but, after talking to staff, ended up on a strenuous one. If Americans consider it strenuous, it couldn't be that bad! We saw the same guy who pulled the trailer forward for us about to start a run up the same trail. While the trail wasn't bad, it was strenuous in places, and I certainly wouldn't be able to run up it. But it was a good hike, and the 360 degree view was well worth it. We saw the same guy at the top and started talking. He was incredibly knowledgeable and really interesting, so we said we would meet up at the bottom for a drink in the lodge. We got down there and he was on his second beer. We got to chatting more and went for a drink in our RV - a bit of an I'll show you mind if you show me yours kind of deal.

In the end, we decided to get over to our camp, try and find his 55 ft total length tow, a place to camp as well. After much kerfuffle, we each got a site - not the sites we were meant to be in, but who makes a tent site big enough to fit a 55 ft tow trailer? Besides, Paul, our new friend, had balls bigger than either Dave or I, and seemed to be able to reason  out anything he wanted with officials. It's a handy talent to have, I only wish I had it! We had a great night in the end, and we just spoke and drank. It turns out he hauls trailers from one place to another, making good money on it. He just stops off on occasion for a hike or a run in beautiful areas. He spoke a lot of his son, and the term 'apple of his eye' could not be more fitting. 

Paul knew a lot about RVs and mechanics, having been an engineer in many different capacities. We raided his brain as much as we could without being annoying and learned a few good lessons from him. He really was great company, and the first friend we have made on the journey. I can only hope we come across more like him. We may even see him again. We have exchanged numbers, and if he's in the vicinity, we will hopefully meet up again. 

We are now in some campsite, somewhere. We were very hungover yesterday and wanted nothing more than to turn the AC on, sit and watch crap on a screen. Which we did, after a visit to Walmart and an annoying detour provided by our GPS. We will be heading off tomorrow once we get our affairs back in order (cleaning, bathing, emailing, oh my!).  The other major task of the day is deciding where the hell to go next. It really is a hard life.

Dave in a bear locker

Me in a log