Tuesday's Camp Out:

On Tuesday, we went up to the lake in the afternoon, taking the dogs.  There was supposed to be a big thunder and lightening storm on its way, and I knew that they would be happier with us.  They want their mom when they get scared.

Here are some photos of the clouds up at the lake shortly after we arrived at camp:

  Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

  Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

  Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

  Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Cary decided to go out fishing on the boat before the storm hit.  Sonny, Dana and I stayed inside the trailer.  We heard the thunder and got some rain, but I never did see any lightening.  

Cary did see lightening, but the fishing was good and he was enjoying himself, so he stayed out there for several hours.  I made him take his cell phone when he left, but it really doesn't work where we are.  After a couple of hours, I started to worry.  All I had was a golf cart for transportation and VERY SPOTTY cell phone service.  If it got too late and my best friend husband was still gone, I would need to enlist the help of fellow campers, because I am not too sure how safe it is driving around on a golf cart during a thunder and lightening storm.  On fresh chip-seal; with no helmet.  In the dark.

Who would I ask to help?  During the time I was putting together my contingency plan, hardly anybody without a motor home was camped nearby.  If I had a motor home, I wouldn't disassemble camp for somebody else (though I would offer to see if my cell service was better than theirs.)  Roger and his wife (from two spots down) did not seem like a good bet either.  They had just passed by walking their dogs and drinking huge cocktail glasses full of something.  They were not planning on having to drive anywhere the rest of the day, I could tell.  The camp hosts were still in Washington, which we knew for sure since everybody kept coming over and getting wood out of the back of our pick up instead of buying theirs.  The camp host wood was all locked up in a dog kennel with a sign that read:  "Please purchase your wood prior to 8:00 p.m.  Thank you."  

To cover my bases, and to let him know that I really did care, I tried to call Cary and leave a voice mail.  It said, "Honey, I love you and miss you and am worried about you!"  So I could tell Search and Rescue that I had tried to contact my husband at around 4:30.  I'm not sure if that voice mail took or not.  Then I tried to text him a long and loving message, but it came back as "signal failed".   I tried to put my worries out of my mind the best I could.  That actually worked.  He came back to camp.  And, sure enough, when he returned, he said, "There I was, out there fishing for your dinner in the middle of a thunder and lightening storm and you were not even worried about me!"


I said, "Check your messages."

  Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I wasn't sure if Cary would come back with any fish, so I made my best chicken soup ever, ever.  I took 4 Costco chicken breasts and cooked them in a bottle of lemon/herb/garlic marinade and a cube of butter.  Then I boiled a bag of peas and a bag of frozen stir fry.  Keeping 4 or 5 cups of that water, I added the cut up cooked chicken, the sauce, and a large can of cream of mushroom soup and some seasonings.  It was so good!

I gave some to this guy who rode his bike into camp.  He had come from Lava Lake that day, which is probably around 50 miles away. The road to Paulina/East Lake is very steep.  He told me that he lives in Washington, D.C. and is originally from The Netherlands.  It was getting dark and windy when he got there, and I thought he deserved some of my best chicken soup ever.  He did.  He brought back the bowl and said it was very tasty.

Meanwhile, my fisherman husband returned, safe and sound, and cooked up our dinner ... three trout and a big chunk of salmon that Jimmy had given us.  It was a fish delight!  I had a cup of my chicken soup too.  What a great feast we enjoyed that night.

  Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Yumm!  Thanks, Cary.  

The storm returned later on, after dark, and lasted for hours.  I slept through most of it though.  I was really tired.  When we got home yesterday morning and watched the news, La Pine had had a huge storm that got stuck and thundered, lightninged and hailed for quite a while.  I'm kind of glad we missed it, but still would have liked to have seen it.  There were over 2000 lightening strikes in our area, and many forest fires were started that night.

It wasn't only Central Oregon that was effected though.  The huge storm cell covered most of the state and there are forest fires and grass fires still going all over the place.  But, not too close to our house or our camp.

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