Shopping in Oregon!

I finally have a rain day & can catch up on my blog - I'm an entire month behind! Seems to be my "norm" lately.

Four days after the Rally at the River, I packed up the RR again and headed out for a 10 day camping adventure. I had originally planned on going to southern coastal Oregon. But a guy named Hugh from Klamath Falls, Oregon, had posted to one of my vintage trailer groups that he had some appliances from a '57 Shasta that he was replacing. I jumped on that one like a cat on a mouse! His icebox and oven/stove are the exact same ones that were in the Chiclet. I was never able to test my propane systems because the lines were all crimped. And Hugh had taken his stove to a RV center & had it cleaned & pressure tested. I figured it was well worth the change in plans to go & purchase these hard to find gems.

I broke up the 410 mile drive with a 2 night stopover in Mt. Shasta. I figured the name of the town was enough to make it worth exploring. I camped at the KOA - not bad for urban camping. I did a bit of looking around, but basically caught up on my rest & reading.

The drive north from Mt. Shasta was wonderful. The views looking south back toward Mt. Shasta were amazing. The landscape is volcanic - covered in scrub & rough tumbles of lava rock. Very stark with the snow capped Shasta in the background. Beautiful!

I met up with Hugh & his wife (I'm SO bad on remembering names) in Klamath Falls. The appliances were in much better condition than the ones from the Chiclet. I was happy to pay them the $100. I got to see their Shasta - they are doing a complete restoration. Once again, I love meeting new people who share the love of old trailers.

With my new treasures packed in the truck, I continued north for 33 more miles to Collier Memorial State Park. I remember camping here as a young child & my parents said it is still one of their favorites in central Oregon. Sounds good to me! I was lucky & scored on of the best sites in the campground for my week long stay. There was a '65 Aristocrat in camp - of course I took the opportunity to say hello & talk trailer! Most of the rigs were large & modern ... what a surprise. But I still met some really nice campers.

Collier State Park is home to an outdoor museum of historic logging equipment. My parents have pictures of my brother Ron & I climbing on the old wagons when we were kids. This visit, I settled for just looking around & taking pictures! The campground is also bordered by Spring Creek & the Williamson River. It was some of the most beautiful scenery I've seen in a long time. Large groves of quaking aspen mixed with tall pines, the fast waters of the creek mixing into the gentle flow of the river - very cool. I even saw a coyote & 2 bald eagles - a major bonus. I had 2 days of blustery weather & rain showers. I was warm & dry in the RR, content to enjoy a cup of tea & a good book.

I went into nearby Chiloquen for groceries & found a wonderful used book store called Fine Books. The owner, Richard, has a collection of over 80,000 books on every subject from the latest in fiction novels to auto repair manuals. I explored the shelves for over an hour & came out with a big bag of books for my future camp trips. I even scored a hard to find western novel that my dad had been looking for!

A highlight of my time in Oregon was a drive up to Crater Lake. It was bitter cold & an approaching snow storm was set to close down the area the following day. The views were incredible. I would love to go back when the weather is a bit more tolerable & do some hiking & exploring ... perhaps next year??

During my time on the highways in Oregon, I was amazed at how many vintage trailers I saw -- sitting in side yards or abandoned out in a field. I counted about 15 of them - all in desperate need of restoration. Naturally, my head goes to the thought of .... maybe I could just move up here, buy a tiny piece of land with a big barn on it, collect some of the old throw aways & make a business of it. Perhaps if / when my time as a gardener runs out & I'm in need of a new career!

As always, my week flew by in an instant. I had the most fantastic time - I explored new places, saw some wonderful sites, met a lot of really neat people, read a stack of good books, took a ton of pictures & came home with a good story to tell.