We passed through Dorris, where the highway does a 90 degree right and then a 90 degree left, no doubt an old ploy to stop the early day haywagons from zooming through this decrepit burg of 1000 folks. I recalled my days as Assistant DA in this county during a former life, and remembered the dread when we received cases emanating from Dorris. It was a place where the chief of police changed about as frequently as the weather. The apparent qualifications: Must have been a practicing alcoholic; some police experience (this was broadly construed, and included school crossing guard and/or a subscription to True Detective magazine). Usually, the itinerant Dorris chiefs dispensed justice on the spot, whacking miscreants ‘upside the head’ when an attitude correction was called for. Police reports were handwritten, and the spelling resembled current day text-messages.
Focusing back on the road, we headed into K-Falls. An internet commentary noted: “There is no reason to live here unless you own a nice house, and few do.” I pulled into a riverside park while Janice chatted at a nearby museum, extolling the historical worthiness of her book, “Oregon 1859” (available through Amazon.com). This was the first of many “official stops” we will make during the next 3 months in Oregon. (Note to file: IRS)
Having done some advance work on gasbuddy.com, I located the cheapest gas station in K-Falls at $4.29 per gallon. Now that we are in Oregon, I need to remember that I can’t pump my own gas. I just stand there and watch the meter spin crazily. Despite my self-discipline driving at 60 mph, the fill-up netted out at 7 mpg. I consoled myself with the fact that there was a 5000 foot altitude gain, and the 10 mile hill between Dunsmuir and Mt. Shasta registered a continual 2 mpg on the on-board computer. Pure guzzling. So, the first expenditure from our ‘economic stimulus’ check went into the gas tank. A mere $200. Yipes! It’ll be beans and hot-dogs for awhile.
Next stop was a propane fill-up in Chemult (for those of you headed north, gasoline is 4 cents a gallon cheaper here) which should last us the entire trip, unless an unexpected arctic chill descends upon the northwest.
Heading west, we crested a few hills on Highway 58, and then a longgggg downgrade into Oakridge, passing the famed McCredle Springs, a noted au naturel hot springs. Gotta work on my tan before I’m ready for that. (Janice also balked, remembering the Montezuma’s revenge she acquired in South Dakota, after a swim in a hot springs pool (with bathing suit, of course), her contagion likely caused by a migrating brown trout introduced to the pool by a diaper-less toddler.) We turned north at the Wesfir turn-off, then left across the bridge and there was Casey’s Riverside RV Park, snuggled up along the banks of the Willamette River. Lush greenery. This will be home for us until July 31st.
Setting up camp was a comedy, if anybody nearby was watching. The sewer hose connectors sprung a leak; leveling the rig (with an automatic leveling system) took a half-hour and then, after finding out that trees blocked our satellite antenna, we had to back up the rig 8 feet and start all over. Because we hadn’t used the Direct TV satellite link in 4 months, it had been de-activated, and when I tried to call Direct TV to re-establish service, the weak to non-existent cell phone signal dropped several times. However, all’s well that ends well and the TV worked fine to show an 8-3 SF Giants win over the Cubs. I vowed that this would be may last TV game for awhile (unless the Giants become contenders).
The Willamette River rolls gently by some 30 feet in front of us. There is nothing as soothing as the sound of a river, and we left the windows open last night just to soak it up. It was a perfect 60 degrees during the night. An early morning freight train rolled along tracks across the river, whistling its forlorn ‘hello’ into the night, also one of my favorite sounds.
Today’s activities?? Possibly a bike ride and fireworks at the nearby golf course. Happy 4th of July. Old Glory is flying at Camp Casey’s.
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