16 September 2017, Saturday Today is a prep day for our Sabrina Basin backpack trip. We acquire our permit at the Forest Service office and learn there that we are not to leave any food in the car. There are bear lockers at the trailhead and we are informed we can leave our food boxes there as long as we label them with our exit date. Apparently rangers empty the
15 September 2017, Friday After a chilly night we warm our hands over the camp stove as our oatmeal raisin muffin is baking. I notice a bird drinking from the water bowl at the dripping spigot across the road. O and I watch through our binoculars. We have never seen this bird before. Out comes Sibley’s. The bird is an uncommon white-headed woodpecker. This is the second interesting bird sighting
14 September 2017, Thursday On to North Eagle Lake Campground about 30 mi north of Susanville, Ca Once more we are on the road around 9 am after enjoying our Bellevue pastries for breakfast. As we drive southwest we pass through some thick haze and smoke from forest fires. We enter California southeast of Klamath Falls OR. It is still smoky here, but less so. By 3 pm, after driving
13 September 2017, Wednesday Farewell to S, K, and Zephy. We make a quick stop at the Bellevue French Bakery for pastries – tomorrow’s breakfast, and then we are on the road south towards Oregon. The drive goes smoothly. O and I switch off about every 80 miles, and before we know it, we arrive at Black Canyon Campground in the Willamette National Forest about 8 miles west of Oakridge.
12 September 2017, Tuesday G departs early this morning for a trip to the San Juan Islands. S and K are off to work. O and I run errands and make final preparations for our departure tomorrow morning.
11 September 2017, Monday S returns to work. K and I take Zephy for a walk and a bath in Redmond. Zephy tries for a quick getaway before her bath at the dog park, but she is retrieved, much to her dismay. She dejectedly submits to her bath. We stop for an emissions test on S’s car on the way home. Back in Bellevue I begin checking on tentative camping
10 September 2017, Sunday Pearrygin Lake back to Bellevue along highway 20 We all sleep very well and wake to a breakfast of bacon – cheddar potato cakes. Even Zephy gets a tiny nibble of bacon jerky. As we are breaking camp, S notes a hot air balloon over the ridge beyond the lake. Once we are packed up, Zephy takes us on a short walk. Then we pile into
9 September 2017, Saturday In the morning’s light the open campground at Pearrygin Lake looks quite nice. We are camped beneath a large, shady locust tree. After baking some breakfast muffins, the four of us, plus Zephy of course, pile into Vincent for the drive back up to the mountains to begin our hike. We find the trailhead without difficulty and are soon climbing up towards Lake Ann, a beautiful
8 September 2017, Friday By the time S & K arrive home from work and we pack Vincent and prepare sandwiches for dinner on the road it is about 4:15. We drive north in the middle of rush hour. As we drive we reach a unanimous decision that chocolate milkshakes would be an excellent enhancement to our cold turkey, fontina and pear sandwiches. We arrive at Stilly’s Diner in Arlington,
7 September 2017, Thursday Bellevue WA We make some preparations for our car camping weekend visit to the North Cascades. The blueberry cardamom coffee cake is not holding up very well. O assembles more Ikea furniture for S and K.