Camping at Paulina Lake, Day #1:

Well, we finally made it up to the lake with our new 5th wheel yesterday, but what an ordeal that turned out to be.  I could have used an extra half hour to get things put into the trailer than I got, but oh well on that one.  After pulling out of the driveway, we headed down to Gordy's Truck Stop to buy propane and dump the rest of the waste that the monitor said we had in the holding tank.  Cary said, "When we get there, make sure to pull out the mirrors while I am getting the propane."  I said, "Okay, no problem!"  But, I forgot to, and he also forgot about the mirrors.

So, as we were turning the corner to get to the dump station, Cary misjudged and totally took out the left back corner of Gordy's Volvo.  Just great!  Poor Gordy; he was really nice about it though.  Good thing that Cary and Gordy are such good friends.  So, here we were, the second time we have ever used our new trailer and we wreck Gordy's car and damage our rig.  In the nearly 10 years that I have known Cary, he has never even been in a fender-bender.  The damage to the trailer doesn't seem to effect anything, though I'm sure it will cost a lot to fix.  Gordy's car sure will.  Good thing for insurance.

Next, we pull up to the dump station, and Cary pulls out the hose (used only one time prior) and it won't work.  We can't get the end to attach.  Of course, there are others waiting in line behind us and we are now holding things up.  The pressure was on.

A skin and bones pleasantly drunk guy walks up in the middle of all this and says, "Hey, can you guys help me?  I am in a dilemma.  I have .85 in cans, but Gordy's won't accept them."  I spot the bottle of vodka in his pocket and am thinking that he wants to buy something to mix with it.  Things seemed to be getting weirder by the minute on this day.  I turn to the man and say, "Dude!  We can't help you right now.  We have our own problems!  Cary just ran into Gordy's car with our new trailer, and now we can't get this hose to work."  He nodded his head, accepting that for the moment we did have bigger problems than he did, and he quietly walked away.  Any other time, I would have given him a couple of bucks, and I still feel selfish about it.  Here I was, telling that guy you think that you have problems, when all he wanted was 85 cents.

The couple in the 5th wheel behind us got out and started talking to us, and ended up loaning us their hose so that we could finish up.  They were really nice, from Sandy, Oregon ... I think the lady said that they were just coming back from Lake Tahoe.  Back on the road, things got better.

We were lucky enough to get the best spot in the campground.   It was the one that I was hoping to get, and I couldn't believe that it was open.  It is a huge lot, almost as long as the one we have at home, with privacy and space. The site is right on the lake, and we can even pull the boat up to the bank once we bring it up.

Using our senior discount for the first time, we are only paying $8.00 per night.  I paid for 14 days, but only wrote down 10 days on the envelope.  I'll need to talk to the camp host about it, as he gave us 10 days.  But what a deal!  $112 for two weeks?  Dang, you can't beat that rent for lakeside property.

Dana is really happy to be up at the lake.  She settled right down.  Her biggest worry, which she doesn't really seem too worried about, are the birds stealing her food.  I have noticed that Dana gets antsy when the wind blows too hard.  I don't like the wind much either, but it did not last long.

The birds are fun to watch.  They are so noisy, announcing their new-found goldmine of dog food in the red dish.  I think that I will bring them up some birdseed today as an alternative.

This is our view.  The weather is incredible, warm and beautiful.  As it is later in the season, the mosquitoes are not a big problem.

Yesterday, there were hardly any boats out on the lake.  We didn't see anybody fishing.  Our neighbors have a little sailboat, that they use to go back and forth to the hot springs on the other side of the lake.

We are lucky to have nice folks beside us.  Grandparents, parents, two little kids, and a Jack Russell Terrier who growled at Dana's arrival.  She just ignored him, and he eventually settled down.  Sitting a few feet away, I feel as if I am in the Clan of the Cave Bear; I can eavesdrop and hear everything the neighbors are saying, but I have to pretend that I can't.  The dad is pretty funny, but I can't laugh outloud or they will know that I am paying attention.

I don't know who these people are, in the row boat.  She was doing all the work.  Maybe he was worn out from his turn.

I was watching the thunderheads gather from the direction of home.  It was very hot and muggy when we left to begin our adventure, and I was glad to be going up the mountain.  I don't know yet if La Pine had another storm, but there is a large fire near Lake Billy Chinook that began from a lightening strike at 5:00 p.m. yesterday evening. 

So, am I working from my laptop this morning to bring you this exciting story?  Nope.  I don't even have a laptop right now.  Nor is there any internet service up at the lake.  I was surprised that my phone actually worked off and on; it usually doesn't up here.

We got up at 5:00 a.m. and drove home so that Cary could take a shower and go to work.  I am now back home, on my beloved computer blogging away.  We'll go back up to our campsite sometime today or tomorrow.

Now, this is what I call having the best of both worlds.  Hope that you guys are all having a great week so far!

~ Kathy M.

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