For several reasons, particularly to make our summer travel months more fun and engaging (for ourselves!)… we started a YouTube channel for RVers.Life.
Coaching I found on YouTube said, “Your first video will be your worst video, so get it over with. Then do 50 more!” And so it began…
I know. This is a huge learning curve for me. D.A. has some experience since he’s been making Facebook Reels for our HavasuNetEm.com page.
Let me restate that: Fun, engaging, and more challenging than I would ever expect. Bear with us, please…
Back on the Road…
So, we set off on the first of June… I intended to post our YouTube videos here, but changed my mind. I’ll update this blog page every month while we’re traveling in the summer, and I’ll show the current video count at the end.
It was D.A.’s turn for cataract surgeries, so we didn’t get on the road until June 1st. We had a few days in Salt Lake City, visiting family as always, then on to Boise.
…to Oregon
We set off for Oregon in the middle of June and spent a night at the Narrows RV Park – so we could visit Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. It was a new refuge for us and only about 25 miles south of Burns on Highway 20.
And there we found two common nighthawks sleeping on the fence of our RV spot!
Next morning, we were off to see the refuge – famous for its tremendous diversity and spectacular concentrations of wildlife. With more than 340 bird species and 58 animal species, Malheur Refuge is a mecca for birdwatchers and wildlife enthusiasts.
We’ll spend another night there on the return trip.
Crescent Lake Junction in the Cascades
After some “stocking up” shopping in Bend, we arrived at our summer camp at Crescent Lake Junction. What a beautiful area — all those amenities I love, blue skies, tall trees, and many lakes nearby.
Our spot was a little tight for getting our boat in and out easily, so we sought moorage at a nearby lake. It’s about 10 miles, but the western end of Odell Lake was suggested as the best home base for the boat. It’s called Shelter Cove, built originally in the 1930s on Deschutes National Forest Land. They cater to fishermen in the winter and snow activities in the winner, and it’s one of those wonderful places families return season after season.
There are two great resorts on Odell Lake, and they both have RV camping, but neither has full hookups (or we’d be staying at one of those).
Nonetheless, we’re very happy with our situation this summer, and it’s so convenient to have the boat in the water whenever D.A. wants to go fishing.
On one of the first evenings we were here, Karen, the manager dropped by to say there was a fire in LaPine (about 30 minutes from here on the way to Bend), and we might lose power sometime that evening or night. It didn’t happen, but it increased our attention to local fires.
We have friends in LaPine, and he’s a former firefighter, but very fortunately, they were fine.
Fire Evacuation Order
And then on July 19th, we got alerts on our phone of a new fire – the Red Fire – that was started by lightning in the wilderness about five miles away. It was only a short time before we had a Level 1 evacuation order. The orders are 1-Get ready, 2-Get set, 3-GO! We gathered up all our stuff that was sitting around outside and waited, while it got smokier and smokier each day. It was pretty miserable and I gave up my evening walks.
Our park is located on Crescent Lake Road and two miles further from us is Crescent Lake Lodge – another beautiful and historical resort. They are owned by the same company that owns our park. There are no RV spots at the lodge.
We have a brand new state-of-the-art fire station (with evacuation facilities) less than a quarter mile away, and there’s a state airport across the street. Resources were so tight because of all the fires in Central Oregon, that they decided not to actively fight the fire since no structures were threatened. They worked on firebreaks and ladder fuel reduction. There was a lot of activity in the neighborhood! Eventually, about July 25th, they closed the road to the public and evacuated the Crescent Lake Lodge and all the homes on the side of Crescent Lake closest to the fire.
Our friends in LaPine called to say we were welcome to come to their home if we got evacuated, but they were under a Level 1 evacuation order too – from a different fire!
Meanwhile, D.A. had a date to go salmon fishing at the Coast on July 29th. Originally, we thought we would spend a night or two at Gold Beach, and then go camping a few nights at one of the many Oregon State Parks. But as the days wore on and more fires developed in the area, we had second thoughts. Eventually, we decided to go to Gold Beach for the fishing trip, but just spend two nights there and then come back. Karen promised to call immediately if she learned news we should know.
A Getaway from Vacation (Ya gotta be kidding!)
It was so smoky the morning we left! We drove an hour – almost to Eugene – before we got out of the smoke.
It turned out to be a great decision – a very sweet but short getaway. We stayed at Jot’s Resort. D.A.’s guide, Nate, from Scream-N-Reelz fishes from there. D.A. caught a 26-pound salmon, and I had a wonderful day exploring the scenic drive between Gold Beach and Brookings. And we even took the opportunity of a Rogue River jetboat trip, which was an awesome experience.
Jerry’s Rogue Jets is the original jet boat tour on the Rogue River. The tours are a perfect blend of adventurous jet boating, wildlife viewing opportunities, scenic vistas, and narration by the pilot highlighting river history and lore. Descendents of the original Rogue River mailmen, Jerry’s continues the uninterrupted mail delivery service to the town of Agness, Oregon. Just as has been done since 1895.
On our return to Crescent Lake Junction, we didn’t experience the smoke until about Oakridge, a town halfway between Eugene and our camp. That was encouraging. We were trying to decide if we should try to find another place for the next month – but it’s a difficult proposition since Labor Day has most parks booked. We decided to wait a couple of days and see what happened.
We really didn’t want to go because this is such a perfect place for us – surrounded by fishing, kayaking, hiking opportunities, and a lovely little community at Crescent Lake Junction.
And then it rained!
Fortunately, on Saturday we had a little rain, then by that night, it started pouring. We watched a steady parade of fire workers coming away from the fire. We had watched a steady parade going in for weeks. It seemed to mean those fire workers would get a night at home! We are so grateful for the work they do.
Sunday morning we awoke to bright blue skies! The first time in weeks!! And then we watched all those trucks of workers and equipment passing us again, returning to the fire. “Humbled” is inadequate.
As of today, we have 21 YouTube videos posted!
See you down the road…