Kayaks and Sunsets at Crane Prairie RV Resort, OR

Where has the time gone ?  It's been 10 days since we returned from our Oregon trip.  I've been working like crazy on the house. Stripping wallpaper,packing up things for Goodwill,sorting books,sorting clothing,painting and weeding ! Whew,I'm tired just listing those things.  Oregon was beautiful and we returned well rested and ready to tackle those jobs and many many more-getting ready to part with the house and its contents.  I got so busy with working around the house I forgot to tell you about the campground we discovered south of Bend, OR.

 Crane Prairie RV Resort,just off the Cascade Highway in the Three Rivers area.  Elevation is almost 4500 ft. so we had warm sunny days and cool nights for sleeping-perfect.  The campground ,Crane Prairie RV Resort  is basic with full hookups-we pretty much stayed either on the lake or at the campsite so I can't tell you anything about the bathrooms or store.  The owners have gotten some bad press on Trip Advisor for their attitudes but honestly they were extremely nice and friendly to us. We had a nice view of the lake from our campsite.  The sites are a little close together but the trees and brush give you privacy.

We got to try out our new kayaks on the lake and it was so much fun.  We made the right decision in spending a little more for the longer kayak and I'm glad we did-it's almost as solid as a hard shell kayak.  The lake was as smooth as glass so it was a great experience in learning how to paddle. I discovered I still have a lot to learn about paddling and feathering !

 We were worried that Hailey wouldn't like the kayaks and that we would have to leave her inside Ruby while we were out on the lake, but that was not the case.  She jumped right onto the front of Jim's kayak. She laid calmly while  looking out on the lake as Jim paddled.  I thought for sure there would be some pet oriented kayak seat for sale online  but  I haven't been able to find one (except for 5-10lb dogs !).  We are going to try and build our own so she will have a more rigid surface to lay on .

I won't tell you the story of folding the kayaks back up to fit into their storage bags.  You know how anything you unpack never packs up the same way again and never seems to fit back into the bag it came out of ?  All I can say is I went inside Ruby and poured myself a Mojito after figuring out my feedback to Jim wasn't very helpful. The clue was the look he gave me when I said "just fold it into 3rds".  We both eventually figured it out and hopefully they won't be twisted kayaks when we use them again !

This is supposed to be a great fishing lake , but shhh, don't tell my husband.  It seems to be more successful for trolling than for fly fishing-oh well he enjoyed himself anyway.

We saw some of the most beautiful sunsets we have ever experienced while camping here. We would just sit down by lake and watch the skies change minute by minute-always a nice ending to the day. I can't believe the life we live.  We both feel so very blessed for every minute we have together on this earth.

I also tried baking bread on the Cobb grill for the first time.  Do you know how difficult it is to regulate coals when baking bread ?  The bread didn't rise like it usually does when I bake it at home-too much heat too fast.  And the bottom was just slightly blackened, but the bread was still so good . I'm going to try the Cobb again after reading about pushing the coals over to one side and baking the bread on the other side.  Plus I'm going to add a layer of sand around the cast iron pot and see if that helps.  I used Jim Lahey's recipe for No Knead Bread-even when you screw it up , it's still delicious !

We hated to leave -the weather was perfect again when we got up on our last morning-bright blue skies,huge cottony white clouds and sun streaming through the trees-life really is good.

After we checked out downtown Bend we headed east .  We weren't sure what the camping situation was like between Bend and Salem but figured we would stumble upon somewhere to park Ruby.  No cell reception in the mountains so I couldn't use any of the apps I have on my phone for locating campsites-so I grabbed the map (old fashioned way) and saw there were quite a few along the highway so we weren't worried.  The first one we stopped at around 3pm was full-oh oh-we didn't plan on that. So we headed a little further down the road and pulled into the next site-Whispering Falls.

 It was pretty much empty and we couldn't figure out why.  It was clean, the sites were very private and it was along the Santiam River.  We pulled into site #7,paid our $7.00 for the night and had a cold beer . We decided the beer would taste better along the river so we  headed down over the hill to the river.  Down over the hill was just about 50ft from where Ruby was parked so we hauled our chairs,beer,chips and salsa down to the sandy riverbank.  Perfect way to spend the late afternoon following a day of driving.  Feet in the river,cold beer in hand and side by side with my sweetie , a sweet life !

Now that Ruby is all cleaned out; laundry done; bed made; dishes rearranged and the road food bag replenished, we are ready to hit the road again .  Next up , Springfield OR. and a solar install for Ruby at AM Solar.  Can't wait for the independence solar will give us !   Happy Trails and safe journeys to you all.

"What is that feeling when you're driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? - it's the too-huge world vaulting us, and it's good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.”

― Jack Kerouac, On the Road