Breaking in ..

Gravy was pawing at the door this morning and managed to hit the door lock. The leash was in the truck, gravy ran out the door before i realized the truck was locked. I turned around to get the keys to realize we were locked out. Raining, cold, no cell phone, no keys, no wallet all I could do was laugh and tell Gravy "this is another fine mess you've gotten us into" to which he responded "okay, so, its cold and wet out here can we go back into the trailer now?"... Managed to use the handle from a paint bucket and some loose wire to open a window, knocked in the screen and I was in again. Good thing I had watched so many episodes of mcgyver as a kid. (Yes, apparently it's that easy to break into a fully secured airstream)

Climbing at Smith Rock

Due to the late night with Wendy I ended up sleeping in.  I texted James and he said it was fine and they were in the same place (apparently a late night of drinking for them).

I assembled some gear, fortunately I'd bought some nice used mountain wear pants at GearFix the day before.  Funny how the universe works.

I contemplated my gear choices, threw together some lunch and jumped in the car.  When Gravy and I arrived there was still a fine layer of mist, but it was clear I was in for a treat.

As the fog lifted, Smith Rock came into view.

I bought a year long parking day pass for all Oregon state parks (it just makes sense) and then went ahead and started to try riding my bike with Gravy .. he was having none of that.  We went back and waited for James, Joy, and Drew to arrive. 

About an hour later James, Joy and Tate arrived.  It was explained to me that Grant and Michelle (who I had not met) had some car trouble and Drew had gone to help them sort it out.  We'd all hike up the trail a bit and stake out a spot and they'd join us later.

Joy playing with Gravy

Halfway down the trail I asked Tate what she did and she told me she worked at the Travellers House Hostel in Portland, OR.  Turns out she uses MyAllocator on a daily basis, what a small world. (It would turn out that Grant and I had worked together solving an issue in the past!)

James and Simone on the trail

We hiked the beautiful scenery at  Smith Rock and got to Koala Rock? turns out it was already reserved by a climbing tour group.  We sat down and went through our options and decided to hike back down the hill to meet up with Drew, Grant and Michelle after trying to take a group "jump" shot.

Gravy and Tate

We ended up finding a spot, and I finally got to do some top rope climbing. James was a super patient tutor, and Tate was incredibly brave (or foolish) for letting me belay her when it was obvious what a noob I was.  The whole group jelled, and Gravy and Simone chilled out and watched us climb while moving between the various members of the group to get attention.  Gravy also protected us from each plane which flew overhead by barking at them.

Bend Night #3 - Saturday

I had decided to spend a month in Bend, I went over to the gym across the street and was told I couldn't get 24 hour access without a commitment.

I went shopping for some winter supplies at "GearFix", then decided to head down to the Fall Festival. It was drizzling and that seemed to keep the crowds away, but it wasn't very dog friendly so Gravy and I resolved to sample a local brewery.

We went to Crux brewing and ran into Drew, Joy, and James at a community table.  They were camping at Skull Hollow, and climbing at Smith Rock.  They had been rained out so came into town for a beer.  After a few moments of chatting Drew invited me a long and everybody in the group echoed his invitation, I accepted and we agreed to head out to the fire pit so Gravy could meet Simone.

We enjoyed the fire pit for a few hours while the dogs played.  Joy lives in Squawmish, BC. and was down visiting her long distance boyfriend (who couldn't make the trip).   Her adopted older brother James and Drew were friends of his, and invited her along.

Joy had been thinking about moving into a tiny home and we spent a while talking about the pro's and con's of this lifestyle.  Drew and James played frisbee, and Gravy and Simone begged snacks off people.

After a while the group wanted shelter and decided to go find/play Buck Hunter, and some pool at a bar named Mavericks.

I followed them to the bar, which had a dispensary attached to it (literally the Entrance was through the bar) and bought my first Oregon weed.  James rocked the Buck Hunter in Zombie mode scoring a place in the top 10, and Drew showed off his jump shots. 

A few games of pool and I decided I better head out and get some shopping done if I was going to go climbing on Sunday. 

I headed down the street to a Trader Joes and Food 4 Less.   While shopping I got a tinder buzz from Wendy.  Wendy and I met up for beers and some fries at Worthy Brewing company. Wendy was 42, and super nice, very attractive, and we talked about our lives and kids, and what it was like dating.  Wendy had been dealt a tough hand in life with her ex-husband, and was figuring out how to survive and be happy.  The chemistry wasn't there, she had clearly been burned by some "tinholes", or maybe she just wasn't ready to date somebody like me who just lives for myself.

Later that night I'd update my profile to say "if you have kids, swipe left", because Meghann who I'd met in Ashland was awesome and IF a fresh family was in my future then Meghann in Ashland would be at the front of the line for me.  I started writing a note to Meghann, but couldn't figure out the right words, I just didn't know how she felt about me and it would have been random if she didn't feel the same way.

Bend, night #2 -- Scandia RV Park

I worked in the morning and drove into Bend in the afternoon with the trailer.  Before I left I stopped at Blazin Saddles and rode a couple of bikes, nothing felt like the geometry of my old Giant Iguana. I realized I'd want an older bike and resolved to make that happen.

Arriving at Bend I found Scandia RV Park which is a nice little place, tidy, clean, well managed, with 3 separate Internet WIFI networks, from three separate providers ranging in speeds from 500kbps, 10mbps, and 20mps - I was in heaven.

This place was pretty unremarkable.
I ended up in spot 309, and was next to Drew, Dana, and ?? (I'll remember)

They were down from Canada, Vancouver area and loved mountain biking.   I still didn't have a bike, but they accepted that I liked biking.

Fortunately earlier that day I had messaged a girl on Craigslist who was selling a bike.

She responded and I ran over to her place and grabbed my new Norco mountain bike.

Later that night I went out on a date with Lisa (from Tinder).  Lisa is a college professor, super chill, I thought we really got along, the beer was great.  We started at "The Lot" which is basically a food truck lot, that serves beer.  After that we went to another bar across the street, closed it, then went to west-side?? a dive bar that was already hopping. I had such a good time.

I decided to stay in town to see where that relationship would go, while exploring everything else Bend had to offer.

A night in Sister, OR.

Mount Thielsen on the drive from Crater Lake to Bend

 

After a driving for many hours arrived at the Bend/Sisters Garden RV Park. The place was immaculately manicured.  Friendly people whizzed by in little golf carts.  Here's a picture of it in the background as we were arriving.

At the front desk when I inquired about the Internet and informed that the gentleman who I was speaking with was actually the guy who mows the lawn, he told me he knew what the Internet was, but nothing else.  I explained my situation and we agreed I'd buy a night, and if the Internet was good I'd come back for more.

I went to the site plugged in and got around 200kbps. I went back to the front desk and asked for a refund, explained I couldn't stay there. Once the refund was processed I headed out, and realized it was beginning to get dark, I headed into town and found a campground right in the middle of Sisters creek.  I also saw three airstreams, with a spot in between them all, I pulled in and took this photo:

 The owners of the other Airstreams were much older, retired, rich, bike nuts. We got along fine, but nothing memorable.  They told me I should go to Blazin Saddles in Sisters and I might find a good deal on a Bike there.

Later that night I ended up driving back toward Bend (about 30 minutes) to have a drink with a girl named Brynessa I'd met on Tinder.  (It was her only night off, and she really insisted on meeting me). As I got out of my car she came over and met Gravy, and a guy minding his own business looks at me, looks at her, and straigh to my face goes "dude, that girl crazy" and nods towards her.  I thought it was weird, but next time I'll listen.  Brynessa was confused about how reality worked, we had some drinks, and went back to her place, I spent several hours really appreciating her crazy and I finally left at 4:30am.  I think she was mad I didn't stay over, but she was too nuts for me, she's the cut your dick off because you have one type of girl.  I was going to write her a nice note the next morning and found I was unfollowed on Tinder.

Went back to the campground and slept for a few hours.
The next day I resolved I would go back to Bend since it seemed everybody in Sisters was about 20 years older than me.

Crater Lake RV Campground

 Was on my way to sisters but the drive was taking forever.  I had ran across Crater Lake RV campground when I was doing research and I had called them.  They told me "our Internet Sucks" over the phone and so I had crossed it off my list.  Since I was literally driving right by and I really wanted to stop by Crater lake and do some hiking I decided to make a U turn and go back.

I spoke with Tom who explained that the camp's Internet did in fact "suck".  Tom was clearly the guy who got the complaints about the Internet. I was surprised that the camp had a 10mbps connection, but horrid ping times, and about a 2mbps upstream.

The wifi name is "CraterLake-NoStreaming" lol. Anyway after some tests I concluded that it was acceptable latency to do my work and the fact that my cell phone had no reception meant I couldn't waste the night on tinder.

Tom helped me back the trailer into it's spot, here's a picture:

 

 About 5:30pm I put the leash on Gravy and went for a run.  I ran around the lake which is adjacent to the campground, and then the town of Prospect is only about a mile away so we ran there.  

Here's a picture of Gravy standing in front of the Prospect Inn -- this is where Liz and I stayed last October.

 

We made our way over the Personey Falls Nature Trail. 

 

At this point Gravy is pretty worn down, we've run about 3 miles and he knows we're only halfway.

Eventually we made it to the falls.  I took a little video:

I didn't realize quite how scruffy or sweaty I was, but it was a really cool spot. I need to get a selfie stick or something.

Planning to work tomorrow, and then head up to Crater lake after work, possibly again on Thurs. before finally heading off to Sisters, OR. for some mountain biking.

Leaving the Jackson Wellsprings

As I set off heading towards Sisters Oregon for some mountain biking,  I find myself wondering if I'll find a place is cool as the Jackson Wellsprings. (http://www.jacksonwellsprings.com/). 

 

I didn't take many photos because it had an aura that could not be captured through a camera lens.   Really, the place had such an amazing community spirit, the interaction with everybody was so pleasant, it was such a joy.  Every day I was there I discovered myself liking it more and more.

To all the friends I made Krista, Meghan, Hulez, John  ("Tron"), Rachelle and all the other random hotsprings visitors who made it such a special and memorable time -- I would just like to say thank you and I will miss you all a lot! I hope to return very soon. Thanks for such a special time.

Price:

$215.00 for my 7 day stay  (buy 6 days, get the 7th free), that price included Gravy who was an extra $5.00/day, and also admission into the hot-springs.

Wifi Summary:
Spot #53, 70ms ping, 3mbps max throughput.

I used a dual 9db high gain antenna to connect to the pool.

Office is closed on Mondays and of course that was the day the Internet wasn't working. 

Note: Long term residents can get their own DSL service, and many residents share a wifi connection.  Water smells like sulfur (rotten eggs) due to the high mineral content, just let it sit for a moment before drinking it. :-)