Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Closed … til April 2016 / Headed South

Caldwell, Idaho  H 85  L 45

Judy locked the gate at Pelton Park promptly at 1:00 PM Sunday ending the 2015 camping season.  It was another enjoyable season here for us and we most likely will be back next season. Judy and I have made many friends here and like Central Oregon. That is not to say that we weren’t ready to head out. Pelton Park is Portland General Electric’s crown jewel park and is full every weekend from Memorial Day until the weekend after Labor Day, that translates to between 240-300 people in the park every weekend.

locking gate 2015 a       locking gate 2015 b

A few days before we closed the park Jim and Cindy, who operate the marina and café invited us out for a dinner cruise on Lake Simtustus. They have decided that after five years it is time to sell out. We are going to miss them immensely. They have been great friends to us. They are building a home up on the canyon rim about ten miles from the park and I know we will be visiting them when we return.

evening cruise 1    Cindy at the helm     evening cruise 2

Jim and Cindy’s new home (under construction) 

Jim Cindy house 1         jim cindy house 2

Monday Judy and I pulled out for our 340 mile pull to Caldwell, ID.  We had great driving weather and traffic was non-existent. Our one night stopover at the Ambassador RV Resort may turn into a two night stop if I can get a service appointment at the local Chrysler dealership Tue. I would like to get an oil change and replace the fuel filter for the truck.

Stopped in a const. zone  Park to Caldwell 1

Ambassador RV Resort #109 ambassador RV 109

Once we leave here we will be going to Willard’s Bay State park in Utah.

That is all for now.  Thanks for stopping by.

Next Blog: in a few days

Monday, September 21, 2015

Only One Week Left

Madras, Oregon    H72  L47

Judy and I only have one more week here at Pelton Park before we hitch-up and head south to Arizona. We have enjoyed our second season working at the park but we are ready to get moving.

Now that Labor Day has past, the number of campers at the park has dropped off sharply. This weekend only 23 sites were occupied and less than five will be in the park each night during the week.

Last week all the Yomes (15) were lowered and taken out of service until the park opens again next April. Don and I had some help doing this. Rick and Gary from the west side came over and Terry came down from Round Butte Overlook to help us. We took all the beds apart and transported them and their mattresses to a large storage container. The canvas sides were removed and stored also. Each yome was then lowered and covered with a large tarp.

Yome 2     Yome 3

yome    container yome

Don and I will continue getting the park ready for next Sunday’s shutdown and Judy and Linda will be doing the same for the office.

That is all for now.  Thanks for stopping by.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

It’s Official, Summer is Over

Pelton Park - Madras, Oregon   H   L

To borrow a line from a Keith Urban tune, “Summer’s Come and Gone”. This past weekend, was the last hurrah for most campers, the Labor Day Weekend. The park was full as usual.

Even though the park was full it just didn’t seem like this was a major holiday weekend. A couple of factors contributed in making the holiday have a subdued feeling to it. Due to all the wildfires campfires were not permitted. Camping is just not the same without a campfire as the social focal point at night. This coupled with much lower temps (H60 L37) had most campers inside their tents or RVs by 10:00 PM. Sure made the camp host job easy. At least it didn’t rain, although we could sure use a good rain.

Empty Swim Area Labor Day Weekend LD swim area

 blake shelton Blake Shelton stopped by! (NOT)

Tue Judy and I took another scenic drive with our friends Terry and Rose. We headed east on HWY 26 and left the main road just east of Prineville to drive on some Forrest Service backroads. It wasn’t long before the blacktop gave way to gravel and remoteness. After we were deep into the NFS land Terry had to come to a stop because sheep were coming out of the forest onto the gravel road. At first there was just a trickle of sheep but soon we were surrounded by hundreds of sheep entering the narrow road. They just kept coming for at least ten minutes. We never saw an individual but finally we saw a lone dog bringing up the rear and keeping the sheep on the move.  That was something we had never seen before.

sheep 1     sheep 4

sheep 5

Judy and I are starting to get the RV ready for travel. We will be be getting back on the road on Sept. 29th.

That is all for now.  Thanks for stopping by.

Net Blog: in a week or so.