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My Man's Sportin' WoodFemale Offline
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Post Icon Posted: Aug. 05 2009,5:40 am Post # 1 see this member send this member a private message  quote this post in reply
So . . .

CE knows most of this story already  

Jeff couldn't go because he's using his vacation time for the Vegas to Reno race in a couple weeks and Katrina took a plane to Montana on July 8, so it was just me, Cody and Dixie (the dog).  

The night before we leave, I plug in the camper to the house to make sure it's all charged up before we head out.  The dog has a little bit of the runs, but she did last year on the trip, so I figure she's just excited about going somewhere (camper's on the truck, she's not dumb).  

We head out about 5 in the morning, hit very little traffic as we take the 210 all the way to the 5 hugging the mountains and avoiding the city.  We pass Bakersfeild area and find a gas station to get some snacks and let Dixie out. She goes to do her business and has blood in her stool. So I'm freaked thinking I'm going to have to possibly put my dog down on this trip. Cody gets in the camper and says, "Mom, there's no power."  I say, "Dad probably forgot to hook the battery up." So I go to hook it up . . . no battery.  It's at home on the charger.   So I think, "No problem, I'll just go an buy a battery." I call Jeff and ask if I can just go to a Wal-Mart.  He says he'd rather me not as their batteries aren't very good. So I punch in "Camping World" on the blackberry and find one that's a little out of our way on a different route than I'd planned to get to the Redwoods, but not much further.  So we take off just before Sacramento to head west on a two lane highway that they are doing roadwork on so there's no shoulder with about 50-60 mph gusts with trucks coming the opposite way.  There was so much wind in this area they had windmills.  We rode this road for 25 miles until we get to the "Camping World", or what used to be a Camping World.  The sun-bleached sign that used to say Camping World was there, but it had closed.   So I say "F-it" and punch in "Napa" and find one not too far away.

The folks at Napa are very nice, don't charge me a core charge, put the battery in the compartment for me and tell me which side is the ground.  So I take the black wire from the camper and screw it on the ground, then the white wire and put it on the positive, check the lights, they work! So we drive another 3 hours (giving up the Redwoods) to camp just south of Red Bluff.  BTW, Dixie has more blood in her stool all the time.  

We find a campground and begin to settle in.  Cody again gets in the camper and says, "Mom, no power."        I thought well, the connections were a little crusty, probably just a bad connection.  Cody then realizes that there is a sticker on the top of the battery compartment door that reads, "Black is postive, white is negative."            

So we disconnect it, check the circuit breakers and fuses in the camper, plug into the shore power, no power. Thinking we've ruined the whole electrical system in the camper, killed a brand new battery, sick dog etc. we begin to think maybe we should just give it up and head home.  Then I wonder why the whole thing didn't catch fire and I think about the truck fuses.  Find the correct one and sure enough, it's burned up and possible saved our lives.  We reconnect the battery properly and have power in the camper.   Still can't believe it didn't kill the battery.

Next morning, I head to a Napa (thanks to my trusty blackberry) and pick up a fuse.  After talking to Jeff, he said I might have ruined the charging system in the truck and with two batteries and no charging gauge, might not have known.  What to do? I type in "Ford" to the BB and it reads 252 feet.      I turn around and see the big blue oval right behind the shopping center I'm parked in.    It was about 9 am and they checked the system for about 40 bucks and an hour of my time.  We were on the road again, but the dog was still sick :(

Edited by My Man's Sportin' Wood on Aug. 05 2009,5:40 am
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My Man's Sportin' WoodFemale Offline
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Post Icon Posted: Aug. 05 2009,5:45 am Post # 2 see this member send this member a private message  quote this post in reply
Since we didn't go to the Redwoods, I had an extra day on my itinerary and figured I'd use that day to deal with the dog.  The reason we went up Calif instead of Utah was so I could go to Oregon and show Cody where I grew up and the house my dad built and see some old friends.  I decided to take Dixie to the vet in that area.  I called from about the border (again, thanks to the BB gps) and the first one I called got us in that afternoon.  I'm thinking they're going to want to do all kinds of tests and surgery and $$$. The vet tells me that the issue is not as serious in dogs as it is in humans and that she probably got a bacteria that caused the colitis.  Gives me some antibiotics, 38 bucks and thank you very much.   I was overjoyed.  She was 50% better the next day and in about 3 days 100%.

Visited and stayed with the girl that lived next door to me growing up.  We had such a great time reminiscing.  Her mom came over also.  Took pics in front of my elementary school and went to Crater Lake with Wendy and her girls.  They were little and just wore Cody out fighting over his attention.  It was hilarious and he was so good about it, too. They were 2, 6 and 8 and had a ball walking Dixie around (they don't have a dog).

Then we headed out after 2 nights up the 97 to the Columbia River.  Hit terrible wind again!  It looked like the Columbia was flowing backwards.  I'll post pics here after I shrink them.  Stopped at Jeff's brothers in Idaho for a night and then off to Montana.  Pretty uneventful trip after the beginning.  Nice and cool, quite a few exciting thunderstorms, hike up the ski mountain, saunas in nature, fresh caught lake trout for dinner, then back here to the inferno Saturday night.  

BTW, I was shocked at how low Shasta is! Note the boats in relation to the water line



Here's me in front of my elem school



House my dad built. We all helped, but he did most of the work.  The only thing they hired out was the carpet and the fireplace.



big sawblade at the logging museum (Cody is 6 ft tall)
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Post Icon Posted: Aug. 05 2009,5:52 am Post # 3 see this member send this member a private message  quote this post in reply
Wood powered steam engine



They called her the GOP (get out and push)



History freaks like me will appreciate this.  It's John Fremont's cabin.  Moved to this site, I don't know where it originally was.  For those of you who don't know, John Fremont led a group of renegades, without orders but with the president's knowledge, on the Bear Flag Revolt which unbeknownst to them, happened at the same time the Mexican American War was just beginning.  This is basically how California Norte came under control of the US, by the man who lived in this cabin. :)



This creek is a stone's throw from the above cabin. I remember coming here to get water when the power was out for long periods of time.



I forgot, we also had to drive through a fire to get to Oregon.  This was right on the border.
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Post Icon Posted: Aug. 05 2009,6:01 am Post # 4 see this member send this member a private message  quote this post in reply
This is the restaurant where my mom worked. The only reason I mention it is because my friend Wendy's oldest daughter (8) informed me that there was a room in the back past the bathrooms that made old people feel young.  I asked her what she meant. She said that there was a room in the back with a bunch of old people in it that were smiling a lot so they must be feeling young again.  :drink  :beer  :drink I laughed my ass off.  



I stopped to get a coffee on the way out and they had these huge cookies.  Cookies for breakfast???? What the hell, we're on vacation, right? Cody was very happy and shocked.



The mighty Columbia, please note the windmills at the top of the hills  :rolleyes



We saw 3 beautiful big horn rams on the side of the road driving along the Columbia, but didn't have a camera.  We caught these ewes and babies in Idaho.



This is our friends cabin. They let us park the cramper there.  This cabin, while gorgeous and cozy, has no running water or electricity.   :say?





You can see the porch railing to get an idea how close she is to the house.



She likes birdseed :D
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Post Icon Posted: Aug. 05 2009,6:03 am Post # 5 see this member send this member a private message  quote this post in reply
Quite a story, glad things all worked out looks like you guys till had a good time!.. Cool pics by the way!.. :good
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Post Icon Posted: Aug. 05 2009,6:07 am Post # 6 see this member send this member a private message  quote this post in reply
Our friends, Dave and Lynne, have a sauna and that's how they bathe.  It is really an incredible experience.  



Creek next to the sauna where they get the water from (they have a well, but this is just for bathing).



inside--the way it works is you mix the hot and cold water in the pitchers or big buckets, pour it over yourself, soap up, rinse off.  All with this gorgeous view of flora and fauna out the window. When you get too hot, jump in the creek, then get back in.  





I wouldn't want to do it every day, but it's great for a vacation.  Dave and Lynne are only here for the summer, btw.  They don't live here full time.

Kids taking turns making ice cream.
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Post Icon Posted: Aug. 05 2009,6:20 am Post # 7 see this member send this member a private message  quote this post in reply
Cody and I went on a hike up Big Mountain







This place was infested with wildflowers  :pissed





Dixie laid down in every water crossing :banghead  We had to practically drag her up the hill.  She is NOT a hiking dog.  I told Cody, I need a dog that will pull me up, not one I have to drag! She was good, though.







Whitefish at 6 am.  By 9 this street is packed.
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Post Icon Posted: Aug. 05 2009,6:20 am Post # 8 see this member send this member a private message  quote this post in reply
Flathead on the way out.  This lake is over 50 miles long and 5 miles wide at most spots.  It's the largest natural freshwater lake this side of the Mississippi.



I just realized I forgot to add our trip to Crater Lake



The water is an amazing color of blue



I think he was trying to give me bunny ears in this picture, so there was a struggle LOL
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Post Icon Posted: Aug. 05 2009,6:56 am Post # 9 see this member send this member a private message  quote this post in reply
Just awesome... :jumpie   God's Country for sure... :good
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Post Icon Posted: Aug. 05 2009,10:11 am Post # 11 see this member send this member a private message  quote this post in reply
Great pics and great trip report. Only picture missing is you knocking back some Jack Daniels :drink  :D

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Post Icon Posted: Aug. 05 2009,11:27 am Post # 12 see this member send this member a private message  quote this post in reply
looks Like All had A Great Time, Except Maybe The Dog!! Great Pics And Dialogue!! :good  :good

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Post Icon Posted: Aug. 05 2009,9:04 pm Post # 13 see this member send this member a private message  quote this post in reply
WOW cool pic's I have never been up in that part of the Country. Well I drove thur Idaho in the dark.LOL



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Post Icon Posted: Aug. 05 2009,9:20 pm Post # 14 see this member send this member a private message  quote this post in reply
Thanx for sharin' your adventure. Glad everything turned out OK and the dog is doin' good. :good

BTW; I bet that flagpole in front of your elem. school is alot shorter than it was "way back when". :p

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Post Icon Posted: Aug. 06 2009,4:38 am Post # 15 see this member send this member a private message  quote this post in reply
My parents like to compare Montana to Oregon because that's the only other place they've lived. So everytime we talk about Montana they respond, "In Oregon . . . " or ""Sounds just like Oregon."  It's pretty aggrevating since they've never been to Montana nor spent ANY time in the Rockies other than driving through at 90 mph without stopping on the I-70 to get to Kansas.

Cody and I decided after this trip that Oregon is nice, but Montana is much prettier and there are less places that look run down (except the reservation we drove through in MT).
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