On the way home -- week 5

Week 5 started our trip home, although Judy refuses to call it our trip home. She wants us to come up with different terminology so she can pretend this "summer of fun" will never end. Or, more appropriately, the summer of living out of a  van with everything she needs by her side, as she likes to describe it.

We have made our way through northern California, through Oregon, little bits of Washington and Idaho, and now we are in Montana. This week will be marked by the extreme heat out west and the extremely poor wifi and cell service. During the days this week, it was in excess of 100 degrees and the nights, although cooler than that, were still hot. Most of this week we had very poor cell and wifi service because we were traveling through desolate parts of the country.

But - that doesn't really give justice to the fun we had this week. Except for a return of the witching hour and a tantrum I had in Benbow (usual reasons - very hot, fan didn't work, no wifi, no coffee), we had a fun time. We spent most of the evenings in our van, not moving because it was so hot. We played "twenty questions," tried to remember the lyrics to "The Gambler," and asked each other who our favorite characters were on old TV shows (including, of course, are you in the "Jan" camp or the "Marcia" camp of The Brady Bunch). We did this for hours each night and laughed through it all. Made me really realize how special this time is right now. We are literally spending just about every minute together, and mostly laughing and enjoying it.

The highlight of this week is when we woke up at 6 AM and went to the hot springs near Crater Lake. It was so worth it. There were only a few people when we got there, so we were able to have our own separate "pool." That worked out well because the other visitors were not wearing clothes. Whoops - we didn't get that memo. We might be hippies by Tenafly standards, but believe me, we are absolute pretenders. It was great we went early, because as we were leaving the VW buses and colorful hippie vans were arriving.

As I am writing this you may be asking about this week's hotel night. Yes, I am still insisting on my one night a week in a hotel! Right after I am done writing this, I will begin the search for this week's choice. And yes, this is still the highlight of the week for me and the lower point in the week for Judy.

I still wake up in the morning looking where I have been sleeping and wondering what the heck I am doing. And, when the two of us stop at a river bend where Judy takes in the beauty, I still can't wait to leave because of the mosquitos.

Tidbits / Observations for the week:

* Burger King parking lot Wifi is just as good as McDonald's and Starbucks. Wifi code:

Whopper.

* Oregon is a real mix of liberal and conservative, with the KOA's catering more to the latter.

* Joe and Margery's hard salami continues to be a lifesaver when I am craving meat. Judy calls it my pacifier. I will be very sad when it is gone in a day or so.

* Judy's "go to" karaoke song is Carrie Underwood's Before He Cheats. Who knew?

* Crocs make it almost tolerable to go to the bathroom at night or take a public shower (a gift from Judy while we were in Berkeley).

* Nobody at the KOA gives us a nasty look when we take out our Goya chickpeas (we packed a case). 

* Judy prefers "The Partridge Family" to "The Brady Bunch."

* The purchase of the 7-lb bag of ice for $2.50 at a KOA is the value of the year!

Our itinerary for week 5: Day 31 - KOA - Benbow, CA Day 32 - KOA - Mt. Shasta, CA

Day 33 - Umqua's RV Park - Idleyld Park, OR

Day 34 - KOA - Redmond, OR

Day 35 - KOA - Pasco, WA

Day 36 - KOA - Kamiah, ID

Day 37 - KOA - Butte, MT

If there is one picture that describes this trip so far, it is the one below:

Judy looking at a historical marker on the side of the road simply "fascinated," while I am in the van wondering where we can get on the nearest interstate.

Wait...what state are we in?

So we begin our morning in a state of confusion. Last night, we had convinced ourselves that we should get up at dawn to visit nearby Umpqua Hot Springs for an early morning soak. Easy because we had no wifi in the mountains; we fell asleep at 8pm, in the midst of a great game Lizzie had suggested: "Twenty Questions" but using people we've both known in our 40 years together (you should try it - so fun).

Drove to the hot springs at 6am for what should have been a 20-minute jaunt, but took us an hour because we got so lost. Nice views of the sunrise through the trees, but in a state of rage cuz we're so sure we got up early for nothing.

Entering a state of wonder that we found it. We hiked across this bridge as we headed to the hot springs.

Passed a nearby shack, decorated by inspired soakers/artists. In a state of suspense, we're sure we're getting closer.

Ahhhh. A state of bliss. We found the hot springs, and OHYAHHH they were HOT (typically 105-120 degrees). Mark climbed right in -- no bath too scalding for this cowboy.

The 5 people already there took full advantage of the "bathing suits optional" policy. We played it safe -- for your consideration and for posterity.

Traveled back across the bridge in a state of amusement as we read the wisdom recorded by others:

We should have anticipated them when we checked into last night's campground, "The Last Resort," which has been one of our faves (and is NOT a KOA, mind you).

So all along we thought THIS is the state of Oregon. Until we started seeing signs like this and realized we had entered the state of... Jefferson?

Yeah, we were confused too. And then we saw banners and flags with the green and yellow logo that had two X's (translation: double-crossed). So Oregon is not the state we thought it was...

...and is instead a state in, well, a state of flux. Click the photo below for a video created just last week, even though the Jefferson statehood movement has been gaining traction since 1941 (he sounds like a high school sophomore but he actually knows what he's talking about). You can also learn more about it on JPR, yep - the NPR station in this region (they renamed it Jefferson Public Radio).

And on the subject of flags in Oregon, we noticed plenty of these....

And certainly no shortage of these.

We left Oregon in QUITE A STATE.

Welcome to Oregon

Wins our prize for the most creative state "welcome" sign -- it's on the road to Crater Lake.

Stopped for lunch first (Mark is actually much happier than he looks here -- it was his idea, surprisingly, to stop for a picnic).

And even Ansel Aronson was moved to take some pics.

Then on to Crater Lake, which was truly a highlight of the trip. The colors of everything -- the lake, the hills, the sky -- change as you hike around (a homage to Sly Lake, CW).

And of course an Escape Campervan sighting as we leave. Count on one in every National Park parking lot. And worth noting, Mark (on his own) struck up a conversation with the four young women who rented it. Wow, the effect of all this mountain air!

As we make our way down from Crater Lake, we actually pass SNOW! That night, our campground will be 80 degrees as we go to bed.